INSIDE SCOOP
OPINION
PARENTING
LIVING HISTORY PAGE 3 GIVING HIS TWO CENTS PAGE 4 PALIN FAILS TO CONNECT WITH THIS MOM PAGE 8
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2008
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Volume 7 Issue 298
Santa Monica Daily Press CAR OF TODAY SEE PAGE 7
Since 2001: A news odyssey
THE START OF LAKERS SEASON ISSUE
Community shaken by gang-related shootings BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
PICO NEIGHBORHOOD A series of shootings
“It’s a land use issue,” Gwartz said. “We have a park ranger out there who advises people to obey, and once they’re told [of the rules], people generally cooperate.” George Winters, a Santa Monica resident, drafted a petition just over a month ago contesting the rationale behind the ordinance and the use of resources to enforce it given vagrancy problems at local parks. “Keeping people out of the median is unjust,” said Winters, who collected 71 signatures as of last Friday. “There are ways to crack down on fitness instructors using the area; to just exclude everyone is wrong.” Mentioned in the petition, which has circulated around the community over the last month, is Christine Reed Park, a spot Winters said has “devolved into a Skid Row by the sea and become an infinitely greater
on the Westside over the weekend that left one person dead and injured three others have re-ignited concerns about gang-related violence. At least two of the three shootings were determined to be gang-related, with the latest occurring Sunday night in the Pico Neighborhood where two 17-year-old males were found wounded. A Santa Monica Police traffic service officer reported hearing gunshots at 5:29 p.m. around Kansas Avenue and Cloverfield Boulevard where authorities found one of the two victims. The second teenager was discovered injured and hiding in an apartment in the 2000 block of Cloverfield Boulevard. The wounds were to the lower extremities for both victims. Investigators believe the suspects fled in a silver vehicle. During their search of the building, officers also found a wanted parolee who had barricaded himself in another room with his girlfriend, both of whom later surrendered. The two were not believed to be connected to the shooting. The building was evacuated for several hours for the investigation, during which time residents were asked to wait at two buildings in Virginia Avenue Park. The American Red Cross of Santa Monica offered canteen services to approximately 50 people, including public safety officials and 30 residents. The residents were allowed back in about 3 a.m., according to Mark Solnick, the chapter’s director of emergency preparedness and response. “A lot of the residents didn’t know what was going on,” Solnick said regarding the shooting. The SMPD also received a report on Friday night of a shot being fired in the 1800 block of 16th Street, though there were no reports of any injuries. The Sunday incident took place less than
SEE MEDIAN PAGE 10
SEE SHOOTINGS PAGE 11
Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com
BUSTED: Andrea Crannage stretches on a median near the Fourth Street stairs on Monday morning as park ranger Mike Escobar (right) explains the law prohibiting exercising in the medians. Trainers have been known to hold sessions with clients on the median near the stairs, a safety hazard, city officials said. Some residents are calling for more enforcement while others feel it is a waste of taxpayer dollars.
City cracking down on exercising in medians BY ELIZABETH KENIGSBERG Special to the Daily Press
FOURTH STREET Fitness aficionados from all across Los Angeles head to Santa Monica every day to ascend the dozens upon dozens of stairs at Fourth Street and Adelaide, making the stairs themselves and the surrounding area one of the most popular workout spots in the city. For years, though, residents there and city officials have noticed a proliferation of fitness trainers and others flocking to medians near the stairs to stretch, lift weights and even lead and take part in exercise classes — activities forbidden under an ordinance in effect since 1970. In response to several complaints made by neighbors, the Santa Monica Police Department has recently increased enforcement, stationing park rangers there to issue
warnings and citations, if necessary. “That ordinance has been chronically violated by people in that area, which is why we put officers out there,” SMPD Sgt. Renaldi Thruston said. City Hall has also sent out a survey to residents near the stairs to gauge the impact of exercising there on nearby homeowners. City officials will review the results of the survey on Thursday during a meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. “We have developed a process that will hopefully lead us to a conclusion,” Director of Public Works Lee Swain said of the survey initiative. “We need the community to help us identify solutions that will best address the issues.” Adam Gwartz, the neighborhood resource officer for the surrounding district, has worked closely with residents who are bothered by the violation of the ordinance.
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