FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2006
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Volume 5, Issue 257
Santa Monica Daily Press A newspaper with issues
DAILY LOTTERY 1 32 36 42 53 Meganumber: 4 Jackpot: $114M 24 41 43 44 46 Meganumber: 22 Jackpot: $11M
THIS WEEK IS SOBRIETY CHECKPOINT WEEK
Collaboration cuts pollution Safe to swim after Will Rogers State Beach clean up
9 15 19 28 36 MIDDAY: 1 9 9 EVENING: 8 0 3 1st: 04 Big Ben 2nd: 10 Solid Gold 3rd: 07 Eureka
BY KEVIN HERRERA
RACE TIME: 1:41.38
Daily Press Staff Writer
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 at http://www.calottery.com
and more than $250 billion spent to bolster security on airlines, at borders and in seaports, few doubt
WILL ROGERS STATE BEACH — At first glance, it’s hard to believe that the tranquil waters of a naturally occurring pond here could be the source of so much pollution in the Santa Monica Bay. Except for a few pieces of Styrofoam floating near baby birds swimming along the water’s edge, there is no sign of a health risk to swimmers. That is until one takes a deep breath and sucks in the nauseating fumes of fecal bacteria; invisible to the eye, but extremely toxic for the body. For years, this pool of urban runoff percolating from underground has been a thorn in the side of environmentalists, who blame the stagnant body of water near Chautaqua Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway for making Will Rogers State Beach one of the most polluted in the state. Filled with fecal bacteria from the hundreds of birds who flock there each year, the water is toxic, but yet attractive to youngsters, posing a serious health risk. Also, at high tide the ocean water and the pond often mix, sending pollutants into the bay that cause swimmers to become ill. All that changed this week as officials with the Los Angeles County Flood Control District drained the pond and used the power of three bulldozers to build a berm to prevent waves from pulling bacteria out into the ocean — hence the appearance Thursday morning of a relatively clean-looking body of water. “I think that this move will not only give Will Rogers an A (on Heal the Bay’s annual beach report card), there shouldn’t be any more violations of the water quality standards at the beach, making it safe for the millions who swim there each year,” said Mark Gold, director of Heal the Bay, which was instrumental in pushing state commissioners to approve work permits for the project. “This beach has been a black
See TERRORISM, page 11
See IMPROVEMENT, page 10
NEWS OF THE WEIRD BY
CHUCK
SHEPARD
■ Los Angeles psychologist Michael Cohn filed a lawsuit in May against the Los Angeles Angels baseball team because he didn’t get a red nylon bag that the team was giving to women for “Family Sunday” on Mothers’ Day last year. ■ Campaign worker for unsuccessful Rhode Island gubernatorial candidate Dennis Michaud was charged in July with falsifying election records, in that he allegedly made a sworn statement that 57 voters had signed Michaud’s nominating petition “in (his) presence,” including two people who had long been dead. Said the worker, “I did nothing wrong.” ■ The signers this summer of a nominating petition for James T. Finnell for an office in Smithtown, N.Y., were all living, but the problem there was that Finnell himself had died in 2004, and according to a July report in Newsday, no one knows who circulated the petition. ■ Amarillo, Texas, officials, welcomed home eighth-place national spelling bee finisher Caitlin Campbell in June with a billboard, but misspelled her name as “Cambell.”
Kevin Herrera/Daily Press
NONTOXIC A berm built by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District keeps waves from pulling out harmful bacteria.
Alert out for suspicious man By Daily Press staff
QUOTE OF THE DAY “Every man is wise when attacked by a mad dog; fewer when pursued by a mad woman; only the wisest survive when attacked by a mad notion.”
ROBERTSON DAVIES
INDEX Horoscopes Scorpio: Be ever playful
2
Surf Report Water temperature: 69°
3
Opinion Five years and little action
4
Crime Watch
SUNSET PARK — Police are on the lookout for a Hispanic man who followed a young girl while she was walking her dog in the neighborhood. On Sept. 6, at about 4:50 p.m., a 14-year-old girl was walking her dog in the area of 21st and Hill streets. She was followed by a man driving a vehicle who made repeated turning maneuvers in an apparent effort to follow her. The female ran and hid from the subject until he drove away
Parking dilemma ends in bloodshed 6
See DRIVER, page 11
Sports Week recap for fall sports at SMC HP chairwoman in hot water
8
Art proves healing
Five years and the threat is still real
17
BY LARA JAKES JORDAN
MOVIETIMES Catch a flick!
NATIONAL
13
Entertainment
Comics
Associated Press Writer
Yak it up, yakmeister
18
Classifieds 19-23 VONS
Fabian Lewkowicz/Daily Press Brandon Ramirez, 25, dressed in a full costume, tries to entice customers to enter the Halloween Adventures Superstore in Venice on Thursday.
7
State
Ad space odyssey
Dressed to kill
RALPHS
WASHINGTON — The threat of terrorism against the United States ALBERTSONS
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remains chillingly lethal five years after 9/11, and officials predict another massive attack is not a matter of if — but when. Despite a government overhaul
Gary Limjap (310) 586-0339
It’s all about you... The client
BACK OR UNFILED TAXES? ALL FORMS • ALL TYPES • ALL STATES SAMUEL B. MOSES, CPA
(310) 395-9922 100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1800 Santa Monica 90401