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Santa Monica Daily Press MONDAY, JULY 20, 2015
Volume 14 Issue 214
MY WRITE SEE PAGE 5
Council postpones decision on aviation leases at SMO BY MATTHEW HALL Daily Press Editor
SMO Non-aviation tenants and miscellaneous airport users have been granted new leases at the Santa Monica Airport, but the council postponed action on aviation leases pending additional information from city staff. At the July 14 council meeting, staff recommended three-year leases for non-aviation tenants and month-tomonth leases for aviation tenants/miscellaneous uses. Council did authorize part of the staff recommendation, providing leases to Ruskin Theater (threeyear term at $3,595.27 per month), Spitfire Grill (three-year term at $8,474.40 per month or 6 percent of gross receipts, whichever is greater), Typhoon Restaurant Inc. (three-year term at $6,060 per month or 6 percent of gross receipts, whichever is greater) and various month-to-month lease agreements for single spaces of either land or portions of buildings for artists, aviators and others. However, they postponed action on the aviation tenants primarily due to the presence of sublease agreements within their leases. The council requested staff return with a more in-depth
economic analysis of the sub-lease agreements, information on the possible city takeover of fuel sales and more options for environmental measures tied to the leases. Staff was also directed to explore recent legal rulings that might favor the city, seek ways to avoid intensification of use at the airport (potentially caused by the Federal Aviation Administration’s recently proposed Metroplex plan) and update the council on airport security. The council debate followed a recent trip by city officials to Washington, D.C. to discuss the airport. Also present on that visit were airport supporters, critics and federal lawmakers. In summarizing the current state of the City’s efforts, Mayor Kevin McKeown said it was clear Santa Monica had a strong ally in Congressman Ted Lieu, but he cautioned against overreaching when it came to specific decisions regarding the airport. “We sometimes can’t take the shortterm actions that people demand of us because we have to play the long-term game,” he said. “We can’t afford to take a misstep that takes us back five years and a court hearing that we may or may not win.”
Councilwoman Sue Himmelrich, who along with Mayor Pro Tempore Tony Vazquez, attended the District of Columbia visit, said the leases should be considered as part of the City’s overall efforts to close the airport and warned that proposed changes by the FAA will not favor Santa Monica. “There’s an intention to turn LAX into a commercial airport and Santa Monica airport into a private jetport for luxury planes that belong to billionaires and I personally know someone who has two of them there and I think that is a disaster for us,” she said. The FAA recently released an environmental assessment of its Southern California Metroplex and the regional air transportation plan has worried local officials who fear it intensifies traffic at the airport. Councilman Ted Winterer said residents who advocate for extreme measures because they believe the FAA will fold are mistaken. “[The FAA’s] got plans and they’re going to fight back and that much is very clear,” he said. City Manager Rick Cole said staff were happy to provide the additional
Nicholas Salazar
NON-AVIATION: Two restaurants and a theater received three SEE LEASE PAGE 7
year leases from City Council.
An exercise in educational geography Obstacles to SMMUSD LOCAL STUDENTS HEAD TO COLLEGE AS GRADUATE RATES RISE
BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
CITYWIDE One of Santa Monica High
School’s two outgoing valedictorians, Nicholas Charchut, is scheduled to start classes soon at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The other, David Lin, is preparing to study at the California Institute of Technology. Former Santa Monica-Malibu students will indeed represent the school district at prestigious colleges and uni-
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versities across the country when the 2015-2016 school year begins. More than 850 seniors at three SMMUSD campuses took part in graduation ceremonies last month, with Samohi and Malibu High honoring students at formal ceremonies on their respective campuses and Olympic High School celebrating the achievements of its graduates at a local hotel. “While it is hard to say goodbye to our graduates,” Superintendent Sandra Lyon said in a statement, “we are confident that our students will continue to pursue meaningful and innovative college and career paths.”
Where they’re all headed is an exercise in educational geography.
separation examined
BYE, SAMOHI
Of the 678 graduates from Samohi, close to 100 will attend schools in the California State University system, 97 will be enrolled at University of California campuses and over 150 plan to take classes at Santa Monica College in the fall, according to the district. Eight new SMMUSD alumni will be found at Ivy League schools, with three heading to Brown University, two on
AFTER STUDYING ISSUE, SCHOOL BOARD DEBATES NEXT STEPS Editor’s note: This is the second installment of a two-part series about the possible separation of the Santa Monica-Malibu school district.
CITYWIDE After months of study and analysis by a financial oversight committee, separation of the Santa Monica-Malibu school district has been deemed viable. But it’s certainly not as simple as splitting the district in two and moving on,
BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN SEE GRADUATION PAGE 3
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Daily Press Staff Writer
SEE SCHOOLS PAGE 6
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