FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2011
Volume 10 Issue 262
Santa Monica Daily Press MUM ON PALESTINE SEE PAGE 15
We have you covered
THE DOWNWARD DOG ISSUE
Employees give up benefits for health of fund BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL In another bow to the harsh economic realities that face Santa Monica, all nine employee bargaining units agreed to concessions that will save the general fund over $1 million in the next two years. For the first time, members of the police and fire departments will pay a portion of their pension costs, which equates to 1 percent of their pre-tax salaries in 2011-12, 2 percent the next year and 3 percent in the final year of the contract. Other employee groups, lumped together in the “miscellaneous” category, have been paying into those benefits since 2007, and were asked to chip in for health care last year. This year, those groups also gave up a percentage of their workers’ compensation pay, reducing benefits to 100 percent of their salary for the first 30 days and 75 percent for the next, rather than full pay for the first two months of workers comp. Daniel Archuleta daniela@smdp.com
SEE BENEFITS PAGE 11
POSE: Santa Monica Yoga is one of a growing number of studios joining the Passport to Prana website, which offers discounts to interested students.
Passport to yoga bliss BY JESSICA JUNG Special to the Daily Press
SUNSET PARK Five minutes before I leave the office for the day, I’m busy wrapping things up and contemplating on whether or not I should go to the gym. My poor bottom deserves it after eight hours of sitting on it, but thinking about the treadmill and fluorescent lighting, I feel more numb — just like my unattended bottom. Feeling like a zombie at that point, I come up with ideas on how to energize my body and mind, outside of the usual routine. The answer to my needs — Passport to Prana, the ticket for a sweet little yoga escape and a change of environment and experience each visit. If the yoga enthusiast
in you has got you interested, get your mat ready and that essential downward-facing dog skill you’ve got. For $30, an access card can be purchased which allows one to visit 35 participating yoga studios in the Los Angeles area. Do the math; that’s less than a dollar per class. Considering the average cost of a class can range from about $12 to $20, it’s definitely a steal. You’ll probably add up a lot of carbon footprints trying to benefit from the different classes all over Los Angeles, so I would suggest organizing a carpool or mapping out the public transportation system. Luckily, there are four participating studios in Santa Monica and one in Venice, if you want to keep it local. There are also some studios in Culver City and Malibu included.
Gary Limjap (310) 586-0339 In today’s real estate climate ...
Experience counts! garylimjap@gmail.com www.garylimjap.com
A couple months ago, Sarah Morquecho of Los Angeles dropped into Vital Juice and on her way out discovered Passport to Prana on the store’s bulletin board. “Since I am new to the world of yoga, the passport gives me the opportunity to try out and explore various styles of yoga that I wouldn’t have tried out or been able to afford, if I was tied down to one studio,” said the 25-year-old, who visited a hatha class in Mid-City and bikram class in Downtown Los Angeles. After a long day at the office, Morquecho sees some benefits. “I leave feeling relaxed and clear-headed,” she said. “It melts away stress from a
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SEE YOGA PAGE 12
E-cigarettes not welcome in district schools BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
SMMUSD HDQTRS An old adage reads, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” When it comes to an emerging trend in smoking, it’s actually vapor that local educators in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District are cracking down on. The Board of Education added smokeless cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, to the list of prohibited products under its “tobacco-free schools” policy last week, joining sevSEE E-CIGS PAGE 9 BACK OR UNFILED
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(310) 395-9922
100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1800Santa Monica 90401