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WHAT’S UP WESTSIDE ..................PAGE 2 MY WRITE ........................................PAGE 4 EARTH TALK ....................................PAGE 5 KNOW BEFORE YOU GO ................PAGE 7 CRIME WATCH ................................PAGE 10
MONDAY
10.19.15 Volume 14 Issue 292
@smdailypress
Santa Monica Daily Press
UCLA Breast Center offers prone breast radiation therapy, more convenience to patients Daily Press Staff Writer
Barbara Abrams had worked as a labor and delivery nurse since 1979 and planned to retire last year. It just so happened that the day she had selected to bow out ended up being the day her granddaughter was born. But following this newfound joy in her life came some bad news: Abrams was diagnosed with cancer in her left breast this July. Luckily for the now
retired nurse, having worked at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, she knew exactly where to turn. Just one week after being diagnosed, Abrams was sitting with her family in a room in the UCLA Breast Center, Santa Monica as a group of doctors came in one at a time to discuss her course of treatment. “You get this devastating news and this made it easier,” Abrams said. “All the caregivers, all the medical providers came to us, which was so wonderful. I never felt at any minute that anybody
City, school officials investigate on-field incident involving parent
was pressed for time. I felt that I was the most important person in that room.” Abrams said that coming into a difficult situation, the doctors handled everything better than she could have hoped for. “Any questions that I had or concerns I had were immediately addressed. It was seamless. It was just the best. I didn’t have to jump from office to office from appointment to
BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
tion for the movie goes to Shafer, who arrived at the local church in 2014 after leaving his job in New York City as a senior vice president at multi-faith nonprofit media company Odyssey Networks. One of the few people Shafer knew in Southern California when he moved was his college roommate, Ric Enge, whose son Scott works in the film industry as a production designer. “He was involved in this Christmas TV movie, and he knew I was here, so he called up,” Shafer said. “It’s a small world.” Shafer acknowledged that churches in the Los Angeles area, because of their proximity to Hollywood studios and entertainment industry professionals, are often used as filming locations. But he said the recent shoot was a significant coup for Mt. Olive, which to his knowledge had never been chosen for movie work before. The church, located near the corner of Ocean Park Boulevard and 14th Street, has about 200 members. The church was founded by A.O. Aasen in 1942 and started in a rented space on 16th Street but moved to its current location in the early 1960s. Its preschool opened in 1973. Filming took place at Mt. Olive’s sanc-
What started as an incident at a local youth flag football game has led to flaring tensions, allegations of racism and attempts by city and school officials to address community concerns. An account provided by city officials, who investigated the matter, offers details into what they described as “unacceptable” behavior by a parent who verbally assaulted an opposing player. The friction stemmed from an Oct. 3 game at Memorial Park in a city-sponsored league that features teams composed of students from different Santa Monica elementary schools. The incident began when a Franklin Chargers player was injured during game play due to contact with an Edison Ravens player, city spokeswoman Debbie Lee said. The contact was later determined to be accidental. “Flag football is still football,” she said. “It can be a very physical sport.” The father of the Franklin player grew upset, came onto the field and used inappropriate language, including a racial slur. A referee asked the Franklin father to leave the game, but he refused, Lee said. City officials received an email from the Edison player’s mother “expressing displeasure with how the situation went down,” Lee said. City staff also heard about the incident from other parents from both schools. The Daily Press is not identifying the child who was verbally assaulted or his mother due to pri-
SEE MOVIE PAGE 5
SEE RACISM PAGE 8
SEE CANCER PAGE 9
PRONE RADIATION TREATMENT
Mt. Olive hosts TV movie shoot Scenes from ‘How Sarah Got Her Wings’ filmed at local church BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
FOUNTAIN
Matthew Hall editor@smdp.com
The water feature in Ken Genser Square in front of City Hall will be fenced for scheduled maintenance of the water feature and plant material starting Oct. 19. The feature is scheduled to reopen on Dec. 2.
Gary Limjap (310) 586-0339 In today’s real estate climate ...
Experience counts! garylimjap@gmail.com www.garylimjap.com
A giant Christmas tree stood on the premise, wreaths adorned the facilities and large boxes were wrapped and tied with ribbons to look like gifts. The elaborate decorations all seemed appropriate for Christmas time at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, except for the fact that it was June. The holiday scene wasn’t the result of a colossal calendar mix-up. Rather, it was evidence of filming activity at the Santa Monica church, which was used this summer as a set location for a Christmasthemed movie called “How Sarah Got Her Wings.” Dozens of actors, designers, production assistants and other crew members convened at the Ocean Park Boulevard church for three days and nights of shooting for the film, the debut broadcast of which is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 6, on ION Television. “We’re excited,” said Reverend Eric C. Shafer, the church’s senior pastor. “I’m sure it’ll be something we like. ... To have the church used for a positive experience about Christmas, why wouldn’t we be happy about that?” At least some of the credit for the selection of Mt. Olive as a shooting loca-
smdp.com
Tensions rise after youth football game
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