INSIDE SCOOP
COMMENTARY
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
STEP UP FINDS NEW DIGS PAGE 3 A MISMATCH MADE IN HEAVEN PAGE 5 Visit us online at smdp.com
ANISTON’S GRILL IS HOT PAGE 17
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2007
Volume 6 Issue 277
Santa Monica Daily Press Time is FELL money KING OF THE HERBIVORES? SEE PAGE 10
Since 2001: A news odyssey
THE LORAX ISSUE
ENVIRONMENT
School board must act fast when it comes to BB options BY MELODY HANATANI I Daily Press Staff Writer SMMUSD HDQTRS Dr. Stephen Hodgson came in with some good news for the school board Tuesday — the sale of the first $60 million for Measure BB bond money. The announcement was met with a round of applause. As the money is expected to be available to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District on Oct. 16, school officials will have to tackle a few key important decisions — determining which schools will receive a good chunk of the estimated $268 bond money. The board convened in a joint meeting with the Measure BB Advisory Committee on Tuesday, both bodies receiving reports on site visits conducted over the past few weeks, possible budget scenarios and next steps to be taken as the district gets rolling on improving the school facilities in Malibu and Santa Monica. Senior staff and Measure BB consultants stressed the need to act in an expeditious manner, given the escalation in construction costs, reducing the number of projects that can be tackled under the ballot initiative that passed last year. It is estimated that delays are costing the district approximately $1 million a month in cost escalation. Staff added that a decision on Measure BB projects is needed soon to continue with the process for the program’s environmental impact report. The board was presented with three possible Measure BB budget scenarios — Scenario A, which would assume the district would receive additional state funding; Scenario B, which would maintain a heavy focus on the secondary schools; and Scenario C, which would still stress an emphasis on the secondary schools while allowing more additional projects to occur than in the second option. The staff recommended the second option. Scenario B would reduce the scope of projects for Juan Cabrillo Elementary School and defer several projects at John Muir Elementary School and Point Dume Elementary School. Under all three scenarios, the total project costs for the secondary schools comes out to around $105.9 million. The secondary schools that would be covered include Santa Monica and Malibu high schools, John Adams and Lincoln middle schools and Olympic High School — the lone continuation school in the district. One of the biggest problems with the first budget option
DOWN THE UGLY TREE
Arborists defend dealing trees a blow story STORY BY MELODY HANATANI PAGE 12
City manager says city has done all it could PAGE 4
Fabian Lewkowicz fabianl@smdp.com
SEE MEASURE BB PAGE 11
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