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Santa Monica Daily Press FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2015
Volume 14 Issue 236
LOUD MOTORCYCLES SEE PAGE 5
Samohi ‘eager’ to begin football season Hectic summer precedes first campaign under Lambert
Facts and figures abound at Downtown annual meeting BY MATTHEW HALL Editor-in-Chief
DOWNTOWN Downtown Santa Monica (DTSM) held its annual meeting on Aug. 13 and among the speeches, toasts, reflections and plans was a wealth of data regarding the city’s flagship economic zone. DTSM Inc is governed by a board of directors (13). Board members serve four year terms and no more than two consecutive terms. The City Council appoints six board members and the downtown property owners select six through an election process. The last seat belongs to the city manager or their representative. DTSM is funded primarily
through property bases fees paid by property owners between Ocean Ave/7th and Wilshire/Colorado. Those owners paid $5,599,515 in assessments towards the organizations total income of $6,988,767. DTSM spent $6,340,367 last year. $1,416,289 went towards the ambassadors program while $1,429,794 was spent on maintenance. Restrooms, elevators and trash cans are cleaned three times a day. Workers also walk the parking structures three times a day for loose trash. Daily tasks include moping stairwells, restrooms landings, reporting broken lights, wiping SEE NUMBERS PAGE 9
For some families, SMMUSD enrollment process causing anxiety District racing to analyze data, finalize student placements
Nicholas Salazar
BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN
PRESEASON: The Vikings are ready to begin the 2015 football season.
Daily Press Staff Writer
BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
SAMOHI The rising seniors on Santa Monica
High’s football team were hungry to prepare for their final prep season on the gridiron. They were only missing one thing: a coach. The arrival of Ramsey Lambert in June made for a hectic summer for the Vikings, who are hoping to improve on last year’s 5-6 campaign with a new man in charge. “The biggest challenge was the late transition of not knowing who their coach was,” said Lambert, who replaced Travis Clark at the helm after one season at La Canada. “Not seeing me until June was tough on them. They were excited to get a coach and eager to get one so they could begin. The seniors were very eager to get started. The transition has been nice. They’ve
worked extremely hard.” Samohi players have spent the summer practicing fundamentals and slowly implementing new schemes on offense and defense while getting accustomed to Lambert’s expectations for effort and conduct. All the while, of course, Lambert has been trying to figure out the best spots on the field for each of his players before the season opener Aug. 28 at Torrance. The Vikings had not officially named a starting quarterback as of last week, although Lambert said the competition is primarily between returning junior Ryan Suggs, senior Ulysses Perez and senior Jordan Maness. All three could also see time at wide receiver this year. “They’re getting their reps and pushing each SEE FOOTBALL PAGE 7
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CITYWIDE A few months ago, when
Andrew Dunkle and his wife moved to Southern California for work, one of their top priorities was finding a school for their son. They researched several schools and districts and liked what they learned about Roosevelt Elementary School, so they found a residence in the area served by the Montana Avenue campus. But when Dunkle showed up at the school’s first enrollment session Aug. 10, he was told that there were no empty slots and that his son might be placed at another school in the Santa MonicaMalibu Unified School District. The new Santa Monica resident, who relayed his story during public
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testimony at the Board of Education’s meeting Wednesday night, is one of several anxious parents across the district as school officials continue to analyze enrollment data and finalize class lists at the onset of the 2015-16 school year. “I’ve talked to a number of families that are in limbo right now,” board member Ralph Mechur said. The district began its enrollment projection process in the early spring, holding kindergarten round-up events, using data from consultant DecisionInsite and asking departing families to inform officials. The situation remains fluid for the early portion of the school year. “In the past, we have typically only had a handful of students who were placed at the next closest SEE REGISTRATION PAGE 7
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