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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2011
SantaMonicaTaxi.com
Volume 10 Issue 279
Santa Monica Daily Press
APPLE LOSES INNOVATOR SEE PAGE 13
We have you covered
THE MADE ON MAC ISSUE
Council keeps momentum behind airport visioning process BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL A diminished City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to push forward with the second phase of a visioning process
examining the future of Santa Monica Airport despite calls by neighbors to go back to the drawing board. The vote also directed the city attorney to explore legal action that would clarify what rights City Hall has over the airport proper-
ty in 2015 when two binding agreements with the Federal Aviation Administration are expected to expire. The goal of the first phase was to look at possible alternatives between two extremes — maintaining the status quo at the airport
and outright closure. To do so, the City Council hired three consultants — HR & A Associates, the RAND Corp. and Point C Partners — to SEE SMO PAGE 11
Teen arrested for string of robberies
Beware of the ‘first flush’ Heal the Bay warns swimmers and surfers to avoid water
BY KEVIN HERRERA Editor in Chief
BY KEVIN HERRERA Editor in Chief
SM BEACH On the heels of Los Angeles County’s first significant rainfall since spring, Santa Monica-based Heal the Bay is urging people to not go into the water at local beaches for at least 72 hours. The environmental watchdog issued a warning Wednesday as coastal areas and valleys were hit with a half-inch to an inch of rainfall, according to the National Weather Service. The main source of pollution to Santa Monica and San Pedro bays is urban runoff carried through the 5,000 mile-long storm drain system. Unlike sewage, this runoff typically receives no treatment and flows freely onto shorelines and the sea through the network of open channels, catch basins, drain pipes and streams, officials with Heal the Bay said. After the “first flush,” debris and toxins that have been accumulating for months on sidewalks, roadways and riverbeds are now being washed into storm drains. More than 70 major outfalls funnel manmade debris, animal waste, toxic chemicals, automotive fluids and aerial outfall into the marine ecosystem. It is estimated that more than 80 percent of marine debris comes from inland sources, scientists with the environmental watchdog said. “This pollution poses human health risks, harms marine life and dampens the tourist economy by fouling shorelines,” Heal the Bay officials said in a press release. The National Weather Service warned drivers to be alert during the storm as roads
Photo courtesy Heal the Bay
PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY A 17-year-old student in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District was being held in a juvenile detention facility Wednesday after being booked on four counts of robbery, police said. The teen, a white male who lives in Santa Monica, is believed to be responsible for a string of armed robberies that took place Tuesday in the Pico Neighborhood, said Santa Monica Police Sgt. Richard Lewis. Investigators are trying to determine if the teen is also responsible for a robbery committed Monday in the 1800 block of Lincoln Boulevard, Lewis said. The teen was arrested Tuesday around 3 p.m. in the 2000 block of Pico Boulevard after a short standoff at an apartment complex. Officers set up a perimeter and the suspect surrendered without further incident. Officers went to the apartment building after receiving a tip from witnesses. They told officers that the teen had robbed a victim at knifepoint in front of Eddie’s Liquor on the corner of 20th Street and Pico Boulevard. The suspect was seen running east into a nearby alley and disappeared into the back of the apartment complex. No one was injured during the robbery, police said. During the investigation, officers made contact with victims from three additional robberies that were all committed in the same area just prior to the one at the liquor store. The teen was identified by all the victims involved and witnesses, police said. Officers collected evidence from the apartment building that included cell phones, iPods and an undisclosed amount of cash, all of which are believed to belong to the victims, Lewis added.
NOT A GOOD LOOK FOR BEACHES: Styrofoam cups and other trash washes up on Santa
SEE STORM PAGE 12
Monica's beaches during rain storms, creating a health hazard for swimmers and surfers.
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