"Born and raised in Santa Monica. The only local cab company."
We Build Small Biz Apps! lotusinterworks.com
310-444-4444
SMto LAX $
Hybrid • Vans SantaMonicaTaxi.com
Call 310.442.3330 Today!
Not valid from hotels or with other offers • SM residents only • Expires 12/31/12
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012
30
Volume 12 Issue 2
Santa Monica Daily Press
PLAYOFFS RAGE ON SEE PAGE 3
We have you covered
THE ROUND AND ROUND ISSUE
The wheels on the bus get leased BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
Editor’s note: This story is part of an ongoing series that tracks the city’s expenditures appearing on upcoming Santa Monica City Council consent agendas. Consent agenda items are routinely passed by the City Council with little or no discussion from elected officials or the public. However, many of the items have been part of public discussion in the past.
CITY HALL Leasing cars is one thing, but the Big Blue Bus breaks it down even further. The City Council is expected to approve SEE CONSENT PAGE 10
Photo courtesy Google Images
Comics don’t shy from Sandy jokes
DISPUTE: Morro Bay is located within an area that PG&E wants to test for seismic activity, which is angering environmentalists.
Environmentalists to protest PG&E plan Power company proposal could harm wildlife, foundation says BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
CIVIC CENTER The Surfrider Foundation plans to hold a rally at the Civic Center Wednesday morning to protest a proposal by a Northern California electric company to conduct seismic surveys along the coast, a move activists fear will harm marine wildlife and people. Pacific Gas & Electric asked for a permit to carry forward with seismic surveys that would create a three-dimensional image of the coastline between Cayucos and Point Sal near the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, a nuclear facility, to define the level of seismic activity that earthquake faults in the area are capable of producing. It proposes to do so using air guns dragged behind a 235-foot research vessel provided by the National Science Foundation that generate high-energy acoustic pulses that pass through the water and penetrate six to nine miles into the sea floor.
The pulses would hit 230 to 252 decibels at their source, and would go off every 11 to 20 seconds for at least nine days of testing and up to 17 days including time to calibrate the technology. The Surfrider Foundation released a position statement questioning the impacts of such sustained testing on the animals that live along the coast, the people that recreate in the water and the commercial fishermen that rely on it for their livelihoods. “Imagine a bomb exploding every 15 seconds, 24 hours a day for weeks on end,” the statement reads. High levels of noise can induce dizziness, hearing damage and other harm to people in the water. Animals in the area primarily rely on sound to sense their environment and communicate, so large mammals like whales could be seriously impacted, according to the report. That could include hearing loss and even death. Activists say thousands of animals could be affected.
LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press
NEW YORK Comedian Dave Attell told a
The method has been used in coastal waters near Washington state and Costa Rica as well as other locations around the globe, said PG&E spokesman Blair Jones. The plan includes a monitoring program to watch out for wildlife. If any appears within a certain radius of the research boat, the vessel can change course or power down the machines. “Similar research is performed around the world without harming marine life,” Jones said. “Our proposal includes an effective science plan, an appropriate research vessel and technology that was reviewed by the state.” The same technology has been used in other places, acknowledged Matt McClain of the Surfrider Foundation, but to say that it hadn’t hurt marine life was a stretch. “Some of those places it’s taken place without incident, and some there’s evidence that it’s harmed marine life,” McClain said.
packed house at the Comedy Cellar that New York after Superstorm Sandy had a familiar feel. “It was dark. Toilets were backing up. ... It was pretty much like it always was.” Another comic, Paul Mecurio, told the same crowd that he got so many calls from worried family members that he started making things up about how bad it was. “I’m drinking my own urine to survive,” he joked. New York’s comedy clubs, some of which had to shut down or go on generator power in the aftermath of the storm, dealt with a bad situation like they always have — by turning Sandy into a running punchline. “If they’re going to do jokes on Sept. 12 about Sept. 11, then this thing isn’t going to slow us down,” said Vic Henley, the emcee of a show Oct. 28 at Gotham Comedy Club. Sean Flynn, Gotham’s operating manager, said comics were including the storm in their acts but had to be careful nonetheless not to make people feel worse than they already did. “There’s the old adage that tragedy plus
SEE PROTEST PAGE 8
SEE JOKES PAGE 12
LIST KRONOVET, START PACKING!
Make it easy... order your
WITH
THANKSGIVING FEAST from
AND
IZZY’S
Contact:
310-829-9303
1433 Wilshire Boulevard, at 15th Street
310-394-1131 | OPEN 24 HOURS
2010 Realtor of the Year - ROBERT KRONOVET
DRE # 01128992
Info@Kronovet.com