1760 Ocean Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.393.6711
Parking | Kitchenettes | WiFi Available
BOOK DIRECT AND SAVE SeaviewHotel .com
FRIDAY
9.11.15 Volume 14 Issue 260
@smdailypress
Main Street restaurant temporarily closes after fire Chef hopes to reopen Fork in the Road within a month BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
Over the next couple weeks, it will pain Drew Adams not to be able to serve barbecue oysters, pork belly flatbread and braised short rib ravioli to diners at Fork in the Road. But the executive chef refuses to see the fire that broke out at his Santa Monica restaurant last week as anything other than a blessing in disguise. “It’s unfortunate, but things happen,” he said. “I’ve never been through something like this, so I’m going to use that as a learning experience and forge through this.” The restaurant, located at 2424 Main St., will likely be closed for about a month as the necessary
repairs are completed, Adams said. In the meantime, Adams will think about all of the other potentially tragic scenarios that could have played out and be thankful that his restaurant was spared more significant damage. “We could’ve been locked and loaded with a full dining room at 9 o’clock and had somebody get hurt,” he said. “No one got hurt, so we’re very happy about that.” Adams also noted that the fire could have broken out late at night, when it could have gone unnoticed for longer and caused more devastating destruction to the building and the expensive cooking equipment inside.
Starting from
88
$
+ Taxes
WHAT’S UP WESTSIDE ..................PAGE 2 COMMUNITY BRIEFS ......................PAGE 3 LAUGHING MATTERS ....................PAGE 4 LETTER TO THE EDITOR ..............PAGE 5 MYSTERY PHOTO ............................PAGE 9
Santa Monica Daily Press
smdp.com
Pico Boulevard businesses support the Samohi Viking Fund during Buy Local week
SEE FORK PAGE 8
St. Monica welcomes new coaches Fresh faces take reins of fall sports teams BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
St. Monica Catholic High School’s athletics programs look much different than they did at the beginning of last school year. Not only is there a new athletic director in charge at the Santa Monica private school, but there are also several new coaches at the helm of the fall sports teams. Katie Charles has taken the reins of the Mariners girls volleyball team, which is vying for a return trip to the CIF Southern Section playoffs after reaching the second round last year. Charles, who replaces Cori Ueda, led St. Monica to its first win of the season with a 3-0 sweep of Los Angeles-Sacred Heart on Sept. 8 after the squad fell to Crossroads in its opener five days earlier. Charles’ roster is led by a senior
class that includes outside hitters Amanda Maqueria and Savannah Cragin, opposite hitter Destiny Ramirez and defensive specialist Audrey Kim. “We’re excited about her and what she’s done with the girls,” St. Monica athletic director Frank Cruz said of Charles, who has coached in the Sunshine Volleyball Club. “The volleyball program is in good shape.” Charles got a late start to her new gig due to a scheduling conflict, Cruz said, so assistant coaches Don and Carol Hackett ran the program in the interim. Meanwhile, Troy Mass was selected to coach the St. Monica girls tennis team. Mass, who attended the University of Nebraska, is a seasoned player and the director of the Santa Monica-
Courtesy photos
PICO GIVES BACK: Acapillow Home Furnishings and Upper West will donate to The Viking Fund.
BY JENNIFER MAAS Daily Press Staff Writer
Pico Boulevard based-businesses are partnering up to raise money for the Santa Monica High School Athletic Booster Club, also known as The Viking Fund. The donations drive will run from September 12-20 as part of the Buy Local/Give Local campaign orchestrated by Buy Local. The Viking Fund is a nonprofit corporation, which operates as a volunteer support group for the Santa Monica High School athletic programs by providing financial assistance and moral support to Samohi students, athletes, coaches and teams. The fund works closely with the Samohi athletics administration and coaches. The booster club also works to maintain the quality of the school’s athletic programs, improve their athletic facilities and coordinate fundraising activities.
Santa Monica High School parent and Viking Fund football mom, Lori Whitesell, couldn’t be happier that Pico businesses will be supporting the fund. “It feels terrific,” Whitesell said. “We are very much a part of the Santa Monica community. I SEE DONATE PAGE 6
SEE COACHES PAGE 8
Gary Limjap (310) 586-0339 In today’s real estate climate ...
Experience counts! garylimjap@gmail.com www.garylimjap.com
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