Santa Monica Daily Press, September 10, 2009

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Volume 8 Issue 264

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THE SCHOOL, WORK, SCHOOL, WORK ISSUE

Parking to increase Downtown BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer

CITY HALL Visitors to Downtown can expect to pay more for parking after the City Council on Tuesday gave a preliminary nod to a series of rate increases that will bring the area’s garages closer to competitors like The Grove and Westfield Century City. The changes, which will be instituted after city staff returns to council with a recommended plan of action, will increase the daily maximum rate from $7 to $9, raise the flat evening fee from $3 to $5 and the monthly parking permits from $82.50 and $121. The rate hikes came out of a recent study by Walker Parking Consultants about occupancy at the Downtown garages, finding that there was a significant number of spaces that remained empty even during peak hours because of competition created at the more conveniently-located and cheaper public structures on Second and Fourth streets where the price of parking is substantially under market, leaving visitors to compete for those spots. Meanwhile the more expensive spaces at the private garages and the public structures that are on the outskirts of Downtown, including the Santa Monica Public Library and Civic Center, remain empty. Even with the new rates, the Downtown shopping district would still fall below prices to park at nearby retail centers on the Westside — $22 maximum for Westfield and $24 at The Grove. The study was conducted to explore raising rates to fund additional spaces as part of the Downtown Parking Strategy, but concluded that extra revenue is secondary to the money that City Hall and property owners would save if they don’t have to acquire land and build new garages. Instead, they need to better manage what exists. “The areas in high demand are not expensive to park in,” Steffen Turoff of Walker Parking Consultants, said. “We SEE PARKING PAGE 12

A HIGHER POWER

Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com Monsignor Lloyd Torgerson (center) of St. Monica stands with Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels (right) of Beth Shir Sholom and Omar Haroom (left) of the Islamic Center during a multi-denominational blessing Wednesday of the Santa Monica Pier, which celebrated its centennial.

A teacher’s first day gets interactive BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer

SAMOHI It moved clockwise, then counterclockwise and then back right again, a blur of neon 1980s-era oversized shirts, leggings, baggy jeans and tank tops swirling around in circles, laughter and stomping feet filling the muggy room. At the center of it all is Darryl Hovis, running after students who screech and laugh as they try to avert their new drama teacher, moving clockwise and counterclockwise, depending on the direction in which they’re chased. He tags a student. Now “it,” the student

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proceeds to chase his peers. Panting and trying to catch his breath, Hovis turns to a group of students who are sitting and observing the game of tag, instructing that they “keep watching their faces.” It’s all part of the engaging lesson plan for the newest face at Santa Monica High School who started his first day of classes on Wednesday with little lecturing, some games and a lot of interaction. “I want to set the tone for the year,” the drama and English teacher said on Tuesday. “Usually the first day is a lot of let’s do the syllabus and the teacher talking.

“I’m not planning on doing a lot of that tomorrow.” In a year when school districts are tightening their budgets and laying off teachers, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, which is experiencing its share of financial hurdles, welcomed 37 new teachers this year, including 24 at the secondary level, six at the elementary level, and seven support personnel, including counselors, nurses and librarians. They come from different districts far and near, some with decades of experience, but almost all new to the SMMUSD. SEE TEACHER PAGE 13

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