MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2005
Volume 5, Issue 13
Santa Monica Daily Press A newspaper with issues
Council: Code enforcement lax
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CITY HALL — Elected officials hope laws intended to improve the quality of life for residents will soon be better enforced. The Santa Monica City Council
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last Tuesday unanimously approved the re-evaluation of its code enforcement program. The decision comes after the council reviewed a staff report that indicates City Hall’s code enforcement efforts for the past three and a half years have mostly focused
on responding to complaints. In addition to addressing complaints, the council asked staff at the Nov. 22 meeting to look at ways it can more aggressively enforce some laws, specifically those pertaining to the seismic retrofitting of buildings, noise pol-
Sign of the season
NEWS OF THE WEIRD BY
CHUCK
SHEPARD
A well-to-do couple (the husband owns a surveying company) were convicted in Manchester (England) Crown Court in October of creating an elaborate scheme to avoid two cameradetected speeding tickets and were fined the equivalent of about $20,000, almost 200 times the cost of the tickets. Stewart and Cathryn Bromley had offered an alibi, explaining that the driver of their car was a (fictitious) Bulgarian friend, and Cathryn made up a postcard “from” the man “to” the Bromleys that incriminated him, and then actually traveled 1,400 miles to Bulgaria to mail it with an authentic postmark.
TODAY IN HISTORY Today is the 332nd day of 2005. There are 33 days left in the year. On Nov. 28, 1942, nearly 500 people died in a fire that destroyed the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston. In 1520, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait that now bears his name. In 1919, American-born Lady Astor was elected the first female member of the British Parliament.
Fabian Lewkowicz/Daily Press Ellen Korak, also known as “the sign lady,” on Saturday decorates the window of the Big Lots store in Venice with a seasonal greeting.
lution and, if possible, mold. These are concerns that elected officials believe should be higher priorities than they have been in recent years. Currently, City Hall is budgeted to staff 10 code enforcement positions. Of those, eight have been filled, two of them as recently as September, said Tim McCormick, the city’s building official. Approximately 80 percent of code enforcement staff are spending most of their time responding to complaints, according to the staff report. These include issues related to construction work, substandard housing and zoning, the staff report said. City Manager Susan McCarthy explained to the council that staff has focused on responding to complaints for the past three and a half years mainly because residents previously felt their complaints weren’t being addressed. As a result of this focus, proactive areas of enforcement have been largely neglected, McCarthy said. With a full staff, at least 65 percent of efforts would still be oriented toward complaints, officials said. “This is not an excuse, but it may be time to take a new look (at our priorities),” McCarthy said. “We’re in a policy arena here, so we need your guidance.” However, some councilmembers said that staff had already been directed on the appropriate See CODE ENFORCEMENT, page 5
QUOTE OF THE DAY “The first duty of love is to listen.”
PAUL TILLICH
COMMUNITYPROFILES |
COMMUNITY PROFILES IS A WEEKLY SERIES THAT APPEARS EACH MONDAY AND DELVES INTO THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE, WORK AND PLAY IN SANTA MONICA.
AMERICAN THEOLOGIAN (1886-1965)
INDEX Horoscopes Say less, listen more, Taurus
2
BY RYAN HYATT
Surf Report Water temperature: 60°
3
Opinion Finishing the turkeys
4
State The battle of the networks
6
Local Know before you go
7
National The oil attraction
11
Comics Strips tease
13
Classifieds Ad space odyssey
Sylvia Anderle: Enabling education
14-15
Daily Press Staff Writer
Local librarian Sylvia Anderle was recognized recently for her dedication to leading youngsters to brighter educational futures. Noted for her commitment to her profession, her peers, and the children and families of the Santa Monica community, Anderle, a children’s and Latino outreach librarian at the Fairview branch of the Santa Monica Public Library, received the 2005 New York
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Times Librarian Award. Anderle, 61, has worked for 16 years at the Fairview branch at 2101 Ocean Park Blvd., where she is charged with familiarizing Spanish-speaking students and families with library resources. “When I was hired, I wanted to create parallel services for Spanish speakers,” Anderle said. “So I started out in my position having story times for children that were both in Spanish and English.” Anderle’s purview has since
expanded. Now she not only organizes and presents the daily and evening story times for children, but her job also entails a wide range of advocacy to help youth — many of whom come from struggling families — feel more comfortable with the educational resources the library has available. “I see that families come here and feel safe and learn that this is a good place to bring your child,” Anderle said. “Most of them find See PROFILES, page 8
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