WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2011
Volume 10 Issue 206
Santa Monica Daily Press
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Daniel Archuleta daniela@smdp.com
SO IT BEGINS: A work crew off-loads machinery Tuesday that will be used on the construction of a pair of new parks in the Civic Center.
Work begins on pair of Civic Center parks BY KEVIN HERRERA Editor in Chief
CIVIC CENTER The “Three Amigos” are saddling up and going for a ride. In the coming weeks, the trio of massive ficus trees will be pruned and temporarily relocated along with nearly 50 other trees so that crews can move 55,000 cubic yards of soil from the old RAND Corp. site to the future home of Palisades Garden Walk, a roughly 6-acre park that will be located across from City Hall adjacent to Interstate 10, city officials said Tuesday.
The tree relocation plan approved by the City Council calls for the Amigos to be carefully pruned and boxed and sit in place for 60 days while their roots adjust and the “initial shock wears off,” said Karen Ginsberg, assistant director of the Department Community & Cultural Services at City Hall. After the 60 days, each tree will be lifted, using a pneumatic lifting system similar to how homes are moved, and placed onto a truck bed. They will then be driven about 550 feet from their current location, lowered again using the lifting system and
Daily Press Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO A bill to reform K-12 school financing, championed by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica), has stalled in its progress through the state Senate after winning near-unanimous support in the Assembly. The bill, known as AB18, would simplify school financing by reducing the number of categorical funds — funds that hold money
that can only be spent on one purpose — to four large umbrella categories. These larger categories would give local school districts the flexibility to choose where their state funding would best be spent, and would, supposedly, get rid of earmarks or unnecessary spending. Although the bill passed the Assembly with only two “no” votes, it became clear that the state Senate would be a harder hurdle to jump, Brownley said. Instead, she chose to convert the legisla-
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tion into a two-year bill and use the extra time to try to address concerns brought during its debut in the Senate. “I made the decision to make it what we call a two-year bill because it’s a big, aggressive bill,” Brownley said. “Trying to simplify a very complicated system takes time … We wanted to try to get the bill really right.” So far, AB18 has taken some heat from the California Teachers’ Association and SEE BILL PAGE 8
SEE CLASS PAGE 10
SEE PARKS PAGE 9
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BY DANIEL ARCHULETA MAIN STREET When students enter comedian Brad Garrett’s “Sitcom Intensive” class, the first question they ask shouldn’t be about attracting an agent or manager. Garrett, best known as the goofy brother from “Everybody Loves Raymond,” said that it’s common for his pupils to sign up for his class hoping that some of his industry knowledge will rub off on them. Sure, Garrett, an Emmy-award winner, can help with that, but the reason he leads the series of classes at the Edgemar Center for the Arts on Main Street is to help people find their comedic voice. “I don’t think you can teach someone to be funny,” Garrett said. “What I do believe what we can teach is where the jokes are — the time and pace of working with a partner.” This will be the fourth time he’s led the six-week course at Edgemar. He does it to give something back to others who are trying to find their funny. He realized that not many acting schools focus on the art of the sitcom, let alone led by somebody with Garrett’s chops and time in the business. Garrett is trying to impart some of the teachings he received as a young comic that don’t come so easily. Having served as both an actor and producer during his time on TV, it gives him a
planted based on the approved park design. As part of the relocation plan, 27 trees will be moved and replanted within the park while 20 palm trees will be moved and replanted at Woodlawn Cemetery. Two ficus trees will be destroyed because they are in a “serious state of decline,” and have been for some time, Ginsberg said. The 20 Washington robusta (Mexican fan) palms must be relocated out of the Coastal Zone, Ginsberg said, because the California Coastal Commission has a poli-
Brownley’s school financing reform bill stalls in Senate BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD
Brad Garrett yucks it up at Edgemar
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