FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2006
Visit us online at smdp.com
Volume 6 Issue 10
Santa Monica Daily Press Since 2001: A news odyssey
Stores go back to Black
NEWS OF THE WEIRD BY
CHUCK
SHEPARD
■ In October, The Washington Post reported the growing movement among psychiatrists to call compulsive buying a separate, identifiable disorder and recounted this 62-year-old “shopaholic’s” therapeutic conversation with herself: “I would say (to the jewelry she felt compelled to buy), ‘You are so beautiful, I can’t live without you, I love the way you sparkle.’ The jewelry would say back, ‘You need me. You look pretty when you wear me.’ I would say, ‘I do need you. I can’t possibly think of being without you. But something has to change. I need to stop this. I can’t afford a penny more.’” The patient said she eventually came to believe that her compulsion stemmed from her relationship with her mother. ■ According to 2005 transcripts made public by The Wall Street Journal in September, a British Airways 747 flew its entire 10-hour-plus route from Los Angeles to Manchester, England, even though the pilot knew that one of its four engines had caught fire and burned up 30 seconds after take-off. The pilot surprised the Los Angeles tower by radioing his decision to fly on “as far as we can” (after checking with BA headquarters, which might have been mindful that returning to Los Angeles would have meant dumping $30,000 worth of fuel and possibly incurring $275,000 in European Union fines for the delay). The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration initially proposed a fine for BA but recently closed its investigation.
TODAY IN HISTORY Today is the 328th day of 2006. There are 37 days left in the year. Jack Ruby shot and mortally wounded Lee Harvey 1963 Oswald, the accused assassin of President Kennedy, in a scene captured on live television. Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, was born in Orange County, Va. British naturalist Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species,” which explained his theory of evolution.
1784 1859
WORD UP! mollify \MOL-uh-fy\ 1. To pacify; to soothe or calm in temper or disposition. 2. To reduce in intensity; to temper. 3. To soften; to reduce the rigidity of.
INDEX Inside Scoop Couture priced comfortably
3
Opinion Net losses
4
Surf Report Water temperature: 64°
15
Horoscopes Back to the future
16
MOVIETIMES The reel in
17
Comics & Stuff Strips tease
18-19
Classifieds Find your place
KA-CHING: Eager shoppers will have plenty of company BY KEVIN HERRERA Daily Press Staff Writer
Americans will spend approximately $457.5 billion on holiday gifts this year, an increase of 5 percent from last year, according to the National Retail Federation. Approximately 30 percent of those shoppers will rely on their credit cards, where the debt is likely to take hold.
THIRD STREET — Janet Jauregui can identify with the woman in the Mervyns holiday ads who stands outside in the dark, her face pressed against the glass storefront as she chants, “Open, open, open” in anticipation of a big sale. A bargain hunter who has nearly dispensed with her Christmas list, Jauregui has also anxiously waited outside malls at midnight so that she can grab the latest trends at a substantial discount. With an extended family that includes nephews to spoil, Jauregui needs all the bargains she can find during the holiday rush. “Are you kidding? The sales at midnight, right after Thanksgiving, those are the best,” Jauregui said Wednesday afternoon as she enjoyed lunch on Third Street Promenade. “You can leave the kids at home with the husband, and after a long day of cooking, go out and get a lot of your shopping done before they even get out of bed. “And, of course, you hook yourself up too,” Jauregui said with a smile. “You know you’ve always got to get yourself something when you’re out Christmas shopping.” While she doesn’t plan waking up before dawn this time around, Jauregui will join the 137 million other shoppers around the country who will head to their local retailers this weekend for the official kick-off of the holiday shopping season. The Friday following Thanksgiving, commonly referred to as “Black Friday,” is when retailers begin to reap large profits. For momand-pop outfits, a prosperous Thanksgiving weekend can often
See DEBT, page 9
See BLACK FRIDAY, page 10
It’s a package deal
Fabian Lewkowicz fabianl@smdp.com Getty Modica (left) and Randy Cannon, of the Big Blue Bus maintenance department, apply a decorative holiday ‘wrap’ to a bus on Monday. The vehicle, sponsored by the radio station K-Mozart, was adorned in a theme called ‘Reindeers Going to the Beach.’
Thanks a lot: SMC to increase parking capacity BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
SMC — The students here might have to find another excuse as to why they’re late to class. A 250-space parking lot for Santa Monica College students could soon be in the works after the Board of Trustees authorized the college president to enter into an agreement to purchase a 2.35-acre lot on Exposition Boulevard. Using money from Measure U, a $160 million bond measure that voters passed in 2002 for capital improvements to SMC, the college is expected to purchase the property at 2909 Exposition Blvd., about 1.2 miles from the main campus. President Dr. Chui L. Tsang expects to execute the contract with Verizon, the property owner, in December for approximately $17.3 million. See PARKING, page 9
20-23
Gary Limjap (310) 586-0339
It’s all about you... The client
Fabian Lewkowicz fabianl@smdp.com BURNING IT UP: Consumers are being warned to go easy on the plastic this season.
Steep price to pay Taking on debt becomes a holiday rite BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
CITYWIDE — ’Tis the season to stay out of debt. As the holiday shopping season officially kicks off today, so does the season in which millions of consumers across the country tend to accumulate debt. VONS
RALPHS
ALBERTSONS
AND OTHER LOCAL RETAILERS
SAVE
50- 90
$ $ ON YOUR NEXT
GROCERY BILL
www.iCanShop4Less.com
BACK OR UNFILED TAXES? ALL FORMS • ALL TYPES • ALL STATES SAMUEL B. MOSES, CPA
(310) 395-9922 100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1800 Santa Monica 90401