REAL ESTATE & BUSINESS
INSIDE SCOOP
COMMENTARY
THE REAL DEAL DIRECTOR SEEKS SEX CHARGE DISMISSAL PAGE 3 BIG THREE NEED TO GET IN GEAR PAGE 5 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2008
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Volume 7 Issue 328
Santa Monica Daily Press GETTING READY TO BUY SEE PAGE 6
Since 2001: A news odyssey
THE ENDING THE STREAK ISSUE
Kronovet wins Rent Control Board seat BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL Property owner Robert Kronovet is celebrating a late campaign victory after scoring a come-from-behind win in a tight Rent Control Board race. The Los Angeles County Registrar Recorder/Clerk certified the results of last month’s election on Tuesday after spending the past several weeks counting absentee and provisional ballots, which made the difference in a race where the third place Kronovet slowly gained ground and eventually leapfrogged second place competitor Christopher Braun.
The Republican and property manager becomes the first candidate to win a seat on the Rent Control Board without the political backing of Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights, an influential organization whose endorsees won every other race in the election. “We think we’re going to be able to work and reshape the Rent Control Board,” Kronovet, 51, said. “It’s going to be wonderful for this city to see a higher functioning Rent Control Board.” Early returns on Election Day showed Kronovet holding steady at second place, gradually losing the lead over Braun as the night progressed. By the morning, results
showed incumbent Joel Koury with a commanding first place lead, followed by Braun and Kronovet for the two available seats on the board. But as the weeks went by and the votes were counted, Kronovet began closing the gap. The final tally showed Kronovet with a 62-vote advantage, or 28.7 percent as opposed to Braun’s 28.58. “His lead was diminishing every time more votes were counted and we got closer and closer until a week ago when we passed him by about eight votes,” Kronovet said. SEE ELECTION PAGE 8
KRONOVET
Area students making the fitness grade BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
KEEPING IT MOVING: Ceser Prado (right), an Olympic High School 11th grader, works out with his fellow students during physical education
CITY HALL Students in Santa Monica and Malibu are a physically-fit bunch, especially compared to their peers elsewhere in the state. The state recently released the results from its 2007-08 mandatory physical fitness test, showing that students in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District are continuing to improve outside of the academic arena. The FITNESSGRAM is administered annually to all fifth, seventh and ninth graders, testing them in six core areas — abdominal strength; aerobic capacity; body composition; flexibility; trunk extensor strength and upper body strength. Approximately 42.9 percent of the district’s fifth graders, 34.7 percent of seventh graders and 41 percent of ninth graders met the Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ) for all six areas. Meeting the Healthy Fitness Zone means that a student is on the path to leading a physically well-rounded adult life. “Ultimately that is the goal here,” said Gina Koency, the project director of the curriculum and assessment unit for the L.A. County Office of Education. “We want to
class on Tuesday afternoon. The state recently released the results from its 2007-08 mandatory physical fitness test, showing that students in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District are continuing to improve outside of the academic arena. The test is administered annually.
SEE FITNESS PAGE 7
Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com
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