WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011
Volume 10 Issue 212
Santa Monica Daily Press
STILL DANCING AT THE PIER INSIDE
We have you covered
THE COME AND GET IT ISSUE
Lieu calls for SMO pollution investigation BY KEVIN HERRERA Editor in Chief
SMO State Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, is calling on the state Department of Toxic Substances Control to investigate air pollu-
tion and blood-lead levels among residents living near Santa Monica Airport. Lieu, chair of the Senate Select Committee on Air Quality whose 28th Senate District includes communities just east of SMO, sent a letter to the director of the department
Monday in which he references a study by Duke University researchers released July 13 that found that children who live within 500 meters of airports in North Carolina have significantly higher levels of lead in their blood, a condition caused by piston aircraft
using leaded aviation gasoline. “At SMO children live far closer to the airport, within 500 feet, not 500 meters,” Lieu wrote in his letter to Debbie Raphael, direcSEE SMO PAGE 10
Learning how to share the road on two wheels BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
seemed to stay home, which presented real opportunities for local businesses that could take advantage of the glut of trapped customers.
CITYWIDE If you think the roads in Los Angeles are congested, you haven’t seen sidewalks, beach paths and other alternative transportation byways in Santa Monica during summer. The city has a medium-sized population hovering around 90,000, a number which jumps to 200,000 in the daytime with an influx of tourists and fellow Angelenos looking to enjoy the sun, surf and sand. While those people slow road traffic down to a crawl with all those extra cars, many from outside of town come with nothing but their two feet and a desire to rent a bicycle to zip through traffic with ease. Some new riders on the road are actually Santa Monicans, encouraged by policy, convenience or health to get out of their cars and onto the streets. That might seem like a eco-friendly move in a city that prides itself on its green hue, but it also means that people unfamiliar with the rules of the road in Santa Monica pile onto sidewalks and bike paths, frustrating cars, pedestrians and bicyclists alike. The result, said Sgt. Richard Lewis, spokesperson for the Santa Monica Police Department, has been 70 accidents between bicycles and cars alone since Jan. 1, 2011. Of those, investigating officers determined that in 41 cases the bicyclist was at fault and in 27 cases the motorist was to blame. The remaining two were special circumstances — in one, both the bicyclist and the
SEE 405 PAGE 7
SEE BIKES PAGE 8
Daniel Archuleta daniela@smdp.com
AT WORK: Tel Trujillo cuts the hair of Joseph Esparza, 14, at Tel's Barber Shop on Tuesday. He said business was good while the 405 was closed.
‘Carmageddon’ a mixed bag for businesses Aggressive advertising campaigns, deals kept customers coming BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
CITYWIDE Despite dire predictions of hellfire, brimstone and bumper-to-bumper traffic, the much-feared (and much-hyped)
“Carmageddon” that was expected to ravage all of Los Angeles last weekend was somewhat similar to the Rapture two months before — if it happened, most people didn’t notice. That’s because, in large part, people
Gary Limjap Your New Personal Service Pharmacy PRESCRIPTIONS READY IN 10 MINUTES
Compounding • Vitamins • Homeopathic • Skin Care 1908 Santa Monica Blvd Ste. 4 | 310.315.9999
(310) 586-0339 In today’s real estate climate ...
Experience counts! garylimjap@gmail.com www.garylimjap.com
SMALL BUSINESS STARTUP? TAXES • BOOKKEEPING • CORPORATIONS
SAMUEL B. MOSES, CPA
(310) 395-9922
100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1800Santa Monica 90401