WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2006
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Volume 5, Issue 225
Santa Monica Daily Press
HURLY TO HURL INTO MARRIAGE PEOPLE IN THE NEWS 15
A newspaper with issues
Court costs criminal
OBITUARY
DAILY LOTTERY 14 29 32 43 49 Meganumber: 14 Jackpot: $24M 1 16 28 32 45 Meganumber: 3 Jackpot: $31M
Consolidation consumes Santa Monica’s time and money
9 11 20 27 31
BY KEVIN HERRERA
MIDDAY: 1 4 0 EVENING: 0 0 5
Daily Press Staff Writer
1st: 05 California Classic 2nd: 01 Gold Rush 3rd: 11 Money Bags RACE TIME: 1:42.19 Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the winning number information, mistakes can occur. In the event of any discrepancies, California State laws and California Lottery regulations will prevail. Complete game information and prize claiming instructions are available at California Lottery retailers. Visit the California State Lottery web site:http://www.calottery.com
NEWS OF THE WEIRD BY
CHUCK
SHEPARD
The parents of wannabe singer-actorcelebrity Marissa Leigh, 16, of Scottsdale, Ariz., employ 10 people for her career development, according to an April Arizona Republic story, including manager; publicist; voice coach; two acting coaches; people to do makeup, hair and wardrobe; musical composer; photographer; and webmaster (plus, of course, an entourage of confidence-boosting friends). “She’s spoiled,” said her mother, “but hopefully, it’s a grounded spoiled.” However, on her national TV debut, on MTV’s “My Super Sweet 16” (a party which her parents spent $150,000 to stage), she was caught saying “I’m a princess” and “I’m such a rock star that I can do this” and “I always get exactly what I want.” Even after MTV cut the two songs she sang, she was optimistic: “(This show)’ll still put my name out there and stuff.”
TODAY IN HISTORY Today is the 214th day of 2006. There are 151 days left in the year. On Aug. 2, 1776, members of the Continental Congress began attaching their signatures to the Declaration of Independence.
INDEX Horoscopes A must appearance, Aquarius
2
Surf Report Water temperature: 71°
3
Opinion Politics hazardous to your health
4
National Vail a natural power
8
Local On a mission from God
11
Real estate Get schooled: Real estate 101
13
International More blood shed in Mid East
14
MOVIETIMES Catch a flick!
15
Comics Yak it up, yakmeister
Photo Courtesy
SHINING STAR A fixture at Izzy’s
16
Deli, Hy Katz (left) and Izzy Freeman (right) worked with each other for decades.
Deli ‘star’ leaves a shining light
Duck and cover
officials at the City Attorney’s Office and the judge who oversees all misdemeanors, arraignments and pretrial motions filed in the city. “Moving the city’s criminal proceedings to the Airport Courthouse was a very significant loss to this community for a number of reasons, the first being that it is very difficult for many defendants and others participating in those cases, such as a witness, to get to that courthouse,” said City See COURTS, page 10
STATE
Community mad at ‘Max’ BY SANDY COHEN AP Entertainment Writer
BY MICHAEL J. TITTINGER Daily Press Staff Writer
NORTH OF WILSHIRE — Former car dealership owner Walter Parr liked to bring clients and associates to Izzy’s Deli — the self-dubbed “Deli of the Stars” — where he knew upon entering he could expect celebrity-like treatment. There to greet him was Hy Katz, the legendary diner’s equally legendary general manager, a city staple of a man who was on a first-name basis with movie stars, judges, politicians and athletes alike. The pictures on the eatery’s walls are testament to his widespread notoriety. Katz died on July 16 at the age of 85 from complications of pneumonia. Parr would typically stop alongside his guests and wait for the “star” treatment. “How many, Mr. Parr?” Katz would ask, raising up a hand to acknowledge the regular in a professional manner, before setting out to find them the best table available. Once seated, it was common for Katz to chat up Parr’s guests, that is, if Parr approved. “He was just a great humanitarian. He always had the time of day for you, your guests, everyone,” said Parr
Classifieds Ad space odyssey
CITY HALL — The county court system’s financial woes have partially been solved at local taxpayers’ expense. By consolidating the county court system, the state has saved millions in operating costs at the expense of local governments, including Santa Monica, which must not only deal with the inconvenience of shuttling in-house attorneys and detectives to the Airport Courthouse daily, but pay for their gas
and office space too. In the two years since criminal cases were moved from Santa Monica to the Airport Courthouse, nearly $100,000 has been spent by the City Attorney’s Office and the Santa Monica Police Department to accommodate the change. And those costs don’t include the estimated tens of thousands of dollars in staff time and inefficiencies in the system. Justice has been taxed as well by the elimination of criminal proceedings in Santa Monica, according to
17-19
See KATZ, page 10
Fabian Lewkowicz/Daily Press Juan Rodriguez, 20, a painter from United Paint Co., applies a coat of yellow paint onto a Venice flower shop on Lincoln Boulevard.
LOS ANGELES — Mel Gibson said Tuesday he is not a bigot and he apologized to “everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words” he used when he was arrested for investigation of drunken driving. “Hatred of any kind goes against my faith,” he said in a statement released through publicist Alan Nierob. “I’m not just asking for forgiveness,” Gibson said. “I would like to take it one step further, and meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can have a one-onone discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing.” It was the second apology the 50year-old Oscar winner has issued through Nierob since his Friday arrest. Gibson said he’s “in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display” and hopes members of the Jewish community, “whom I have personally offended,” will help him in his recovery efforts. “There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark,” Gibson said. “But please know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot.” See GIBSON, page 6
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