Santa Monica Daily Press, October 03, 2009

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Volume 8 Issue 284

Santa Monica Daily Press TAXING POP? SEE PAGE 4

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THE TIME TO SCRAMBLE ISSUE

Homework policy undergoes changes BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer

SMMUSD HDQTRS A 20-year-old homework policy that’s been criticized as antiquated and confusing saw major changes on Thursday when the Board of Education approved a set of revisions that parents hope will cut the hours spent on afterschool studies. The modifications come nearly a year after the board formed an ad hoc committee that reviewed both the homework policy and administrative regulations following concerns from the community that students received an inordinate amount of homework, cutting into time with their families. The blame was placed in part on confusion of the existing policy and what some believed was a lack of communication between teachers and with parents. Proponents of the revised policy said the changes encourage collaboration among administrators, teachers and parents and directs all parties to develop together an effective homework plan specific to each school site through its respective governance council. “This is all about communication,” Debbie Bernstein, a parent and former teacher at University High School, said. “In the past parents talked to parents, and teachers talked among themselves along with administrators on this subject, but largely parents, teachers, and administrators do not spend much time communicating formally on this topic, if discussing it formally at all.” The revised administrative regulation also changed the amount of time that students should spend on homework every day. The old guidelines advised that first graders spend between 10-20 minutes daily, or 40-80 minutes a week, while the new regulations fixed the time to 20 minutes daily or 80 minutes a week. Those ranges were also removed for second, third, fourth and fifth grades, replaced similarly with times on the higher end of the specSEE HOMEWORK PAGE 12

PEACEFUL VISION

Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com People watch as activists gather around a large peace sign north of the Santa Monica Pier to commemorate the United Nations’ ‘International Day of Nonviolence’ and the anniversary of Gandhi's birth on Friday afternoon. The celebration also marks the start of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, which began on Friday in New Zealand and will circle the globe.

Street performer law to get second look BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer

DOWNTOWN The issue of whether a local ordinance regulating street performers is legal will soon come to the City Council after a U.S. appellate court ruled that a Seattle law requiring permits for the artists is unconstitutional. The council is expected to take up the matter in a yet-to-be scheduled study session where city staff will present options for maintaining or revising the existing ordinance, which requires a $37 renewable permit for performers on the Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica Pier and

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Transit Mall. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in June struck down a 2002 ladw that established new regulations for street performers in the Seattle Center, an 80-acre park and entertainment complex, requiring permits and limiting activity to designated spaces. The rules also allowed only passive solicitation, required performers to display a badge and prohibited anyone other than Seattle Center employees from engaging in “speech activities” within 30 feet of where visitors waited in line. A balloon artist and Seattle Center regular, Mike Berger, filed a lawsuit challenging the regulations on the grounds that they

violated free speech protections. The U.S. District Court sided with Berger in 2005 and that decision was later appealed by the city of Seattle. Santa Monica City Attorney Marsha Moutrie has been following the case to see whether Seattle officials were going to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for review, in which case City Hall would have joined in efforts to urge judges to do so. But Seattle officials have since decided to forgo the appeal, leaving the Berger decision to stand. She noted that there are significant differences in the Santa Monica and Seattle SEE PERFORMERS PAGE 13

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