2009 Grand Prize Sustainable Quality Award City of SM, SM Chamber & Sustainable Works
310-444-4444
20th Anniversary
Hybrid • Mercedes-Benz
not valid from hotels or with other offers • SM residents only • Expires 8/31/10
SM to LAX $30
SantaMonicaTaxi.com
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2010
Volume 9 Issue 262
Santa Monica Daily Press WINNING RETURN SEE PAGE 10
We have you covered
THE TAKING IT TO THE HOUSE ISSUE
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Samohi opens season with emotional win Vikings’ Comas returns two punts for scores against Leuzinger BY DANIEL ARCHULETA Managing Editor
LAWNDALE On a night when the Samohi
Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com
Vikings had more on their minds than just football, the points just kept on coming against Leuzinger as both teams opened their seasons on Friday night. Playing the game in memory of the late Norm Lacy, the school’s popular athletic director who passed away in May, and in honor of Cody Williams, a player who suffered a severe spinal injury during last season’s opener, the Vikings routed host Leuzinger, 42-6. Kris Comas, who led the charge by returning a pair of punts for touchdowns and catching another from quarterback Brock Miller, couldn’t help but feel the emotions following the game. “I had a lot of people on my mind,” said Comas, who had “C-Dub” written on his eye black in a nod to Williams. “We did this for Cody and Lacy.” The Vikings wasted little time putting up points. Samohi scored on the game’s first possession with junior running back Kori Garcia scoring on a 14-yard run to put the
RUNNING MAN: Samohi's Kris Comas returns a punt for a touchdown against Leuzinger on the road on Friday night. Comas finished the game
SEE SAMOHI PAGE 7
with two punt returns for scores and a touchdown catch. Samohi travels to Palisades High School on Thursday.
Pepperdine University takes ‘Step Forward’ BY MELISSA LEU Special to the Daily Press
DOWNTOWN On a cloudy Saturday morning, Emily Richardson, unlike many college students her age, is not sleeping in. Instead of hitting the snooze button, she boards a school bus that takes her from Pepperdine University to the Salvation Army in Santa Monica, where she will coordinate volunteers for her school’s Step Forward Day.
“It’s really just a way to kick off the service year. It’s kind of a huge school-wide effort to get everybody started off serving at the beginning of the year and get excited about the service projects throughout the semester,” said Richardson, a senior majoring in rhetoric and leadership. From campus beautification projects at elementary schools to interacting with residents of a nursing home, participants of the 22nd annual Step Forward Day, an interna-
Band & Orchestra Instruments
RENT-TO-OWN (310) 453-1928
1901 Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica www.santamonicamusic.com
tional day of service put on by Pepperdine students and staff, arrived early Saturday morning to volunteer at organizations in their local communities. More than 2,000 students, alumni and staff members lent a helping hand in cities mostly in the Los Angeles and Ventura counties, with some alumni participating from as far as Tokyo, Japan. In Santa Monica, 195 volunteers served at seven sites, including Seaport Care Center, Roosevelt Elementary
and the Salvation Army. “Everybody just goes and helps out in the community wherever they can, and try to make a difference with a lot of people in a short amount of time,” said Dr. Sarah Watt, a communication professor and director of forensics at Pepperdine University. Richardson, who first got involved in the project her freshman year, led about 60 of SEE VOLUNTEER PAGE 7
Gary Limjap (310) 586-0339 In today’s real estate climate ...
Experience counts! garylimjap@gmail.com www.garylimjap.com
ALL FORMS, ALL TYPES, ALL STATES
BACK TAXES • BOOKKEEPING • SMALL BUSINESS
SAMUEL B. MOSES, CPA
(310) 395-9922
100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1800Santa Monica 90401