Santa Monica Daily Press, December 14, 2006

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Visit us online at smdp.com

Volume 6 Issue 27

Santa Monica Daily Press Since 2001: A news odyssey

‘Black’ & blue

DAILY LOTTERY 20 30 31 35 49 Meganumber: 23 Jackpot: $30M 7 12 20 25 33 Meganumber: 7 Jackpot: $19M 19 24 30 31 37 MIDDAY: 1 3 8 EVENING: 5 2 9

Landlord growing impatient waiting for murder trial

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NEWS OF THE WEIRD BY

CHUCK

SHEPARD

BY MELODY HANATANI

■ Britain’s Channel 4 public television announced in July that it would soon schedule a week of documentaries on masturbation, including one by self-designated “orgasm coach” Betty Dodson, “Masturbation for Girls,” teaching hands-on techniques to three women.

■ The pendulum swung the other way in October, however, when Britain’s Tesco stores agreed that a kit for learning pole dancing (advertised on its Web site), to “(u)nleash the sex kitten inside,” with a garter and suggestive DVD, was perhaps unsuited for its “toy” section, where it might have been appealing to adolescent girls. (Tesco moved the listing to its physical fitness section.)

TODAY IN HISTORY The first president of the United States, George 1799 Washington, died at his Mount Vernon home at age 67.

Alabama joined the Union as the 22nd state.

Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his group became the first men to reach the South Pole, beating out an expedition led by Robert F. Scott.

Six South Moluccan extremists surrendered after holding 23 hostages for 12 days on a train near the Dutch town of Beilen.

1819 1911 1975

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INDEX Inside Scoop Fake firs aren’t the rage

3

Business Thinking ‘green’ for the holidays

18

Surf Report Water temperature: 61°

19

Horoscopes See what’s in store

20

MOVIETIMES Celluloid heroes

21

Comics & Stuff Strips tease

22-23

Classifieds Find your place

25-27

Daily Press Staff Writer

Fabian Lewkowicz fabianl@smdp.com

SIZE MATTERS: A woman on Wednesday browses the merchandise on a rack out-

School board gets lowdown Not buying into it on ‘BB’ needs Thus far, holiday retail sales are so-so side of Varga on Main Street. Holiday shopping has been steady, if unspectacular.

BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer

BY KEVIN HERRERA Daily Press Staff Writer

SMMUSD HDQTRS. — Board members on Tuesday received a lesson in School Building Bonds 101.

Representatives of Los Angeles County Office of Education, and the law offices of Stradling, Yocca, Carlson and Rauth, a firm specializing in municipalities, spoke to school board members about the steps the district is required to take following the passage of Measure BB by voters last month.

Approximately 72 percent of Santa Monica’s voters approved Measure BB, setting the stage for the district to spend $268 million on infrastructure needs such as building renovations, construction, repairs and computer technology.

Before any further steps are taken, the district must form a Citizens Bond Oversight Committee, a group that would have no decision-making authority but could provide advice to the school board on matters related to Measure BB funding. The committee is required under Proposition

CITYWIDE — Local merchants are reporting mixed sales figures for the weeks following Thanksgiving, with stores specializing in apparel and electronics posting slight gains while furniture stores and auto dealers

experiencing weaker numbers compared to the same time last year.

That seems to follow a national trend, as November sales were “soft” when compared to the same time last year, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

See MERCHANTS, page 13

Indian summer

Alejandro Cesar Cantarero II alex@smdp.com Former Doors drummer John Densmore (left) brought his band Tribal Jazz to Hear Music on the Third Street Promenade for a free concert on Wednesday.

See SCHOOL BOARD, page 16

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DOWNTOWN, LA — The long-stalled saga of the “Black Widows” murder case has finally made some movement.

On Wednesday, an LA County Commissioner moved the case of Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt — accused of masterminding a dubious plot GOLAY in which they befriended, then murdered, two former homeless men in separate hit-andrun accidents RUTTERSCHMIDT in a scheme to cash in on their life insurance policies — from his department to that of a supervising judge because of the convoluted nature of the case.

Golay is a Santa Monica landlord, who owned at least three apartment complexes within the city at the time of her arrest on federal mail fraud charges on May 18.

Rutterschmidt and Golay were present for the hearing, both looking tired and relatively plain in their orange jumpsuits as compared to their mug shots, in which Golay was sporting a ’60s-style bouffant and Rutterschmidt a smile plastered on her face.

The main issue complicating the case has been the scheduling of a preliminary trial, which the attorneys have attempted to do at least four times, including on Wednesday when Commissioner James Bianco granted a request by Rutterschmidt’s attorney, Public Defender Michael Sklar, to

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A newspaper with issues

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Weekly LeTip Business Networking Group

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Weekly networking over lunch at El Cholo to provide additional lead and referrals to your line of work. Only one person per profession may join. Call (310) 356-7519 to reserve a spot.

Brentwood Country Mart’s Holiday Events 225 26th St., noon — 2 p.m.

Yappy Hour @ Tails of Santa Monica

2912 Main St., 6 p.m. — 8 p.m.

A social gathering for dogs and their people. There will be light refreshments, doggie snacks and play time. For more information, call (310) 392-4300.

Salvation Army Youth Night

1533 Fourth St., 6 p.m. — 8 p.m.

Youth Night is for kids between the ages of 5-12. Activities include games, crafts and Bible lessons. A meal is also included.

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A divorce recovery and support group that meets weekly on Thursdays at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship Westside. For more information, call (310) 581-0455.

‘Served (Gratuity Not Included)’

1211 Fourth St., 8 p.m. — 9:40 p.m.

Scott Jones wrote and stars in this new play at the Santa Monica Playhouse. All seats are $15. For tickets, call (310) 394-9779, ext. 1, or purchase tickets online at www.SantaMonicaPlayhouse.com.

Friday, Dec. 15, 2006 Fitness Class (Mambo Mania)

1711 Stewart St., 7 a.m. — 8 a.m.

For more information, call (310) 515-4840.

Winterlit Best Gift Ever gift drive Third Street Promenade,10 a.m. — 6 p.m.

Enchanted Lunchtime Theatre

1211 Fourth St., 11:30 a.m. — 1 p.m.

For more information, call the Playhouse box office at (310) 394-9779, ext. 2, or visit www.SantaMonicaPlayhouse.com.

Brentwood Country Mart’s Holiday Events 225 26th St., noon — 2 p.m.

Tajiquan

Santa Monica, 7:30 a.m. — 9:15 a.m.

A healing class featuring Helen Bouboulis. For more information, call (310) 5810097 or visit www.shiatsumassageschool.org.

Inside Scoop Visit us online at smdp.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

3

Changing of guard SMC Trustees names new chair, vice chair

BY KEVIN HERRERA Daily Press Staff Writer

SMC — The deck has been shuffled among the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees, with former vice chair Susan Aminoff being elected as its new chair and trustee Rod Rader taking on vice chair duties for next year.

This is the first time that either Aminoff or Rader will serve in those leadership capacities, with Aminoff succeeding Nancy Greenstein as chair and Rader spelling Aminoff as vice chair.

While a little reluctant to assume the duties of chair, Aminoff said she “will do the very best job possible.”

“I’m going to study and work very, very hard to bring a process to the board that allows us to work steadily to meet the goals we set forth in January,” said Aminoff, a Santa Monica resident of 23 years who was elected to the board in November 2004.

Aminoff and Rader were selected by a majority of the board earlier this week.

A sociology professor at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Aminoff has been active in several community college organizations and projects. She has served since 1999 as the chair of the Joint Labor-Management Benefits Committee of the Los Angeles

Faculty Guild. She also serves on the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges’ Health Care Committee and the California Federation of Teachers Retirement Committee.

Aminoff developed and administered the ENCORE Emeritus College for Lifelong Learning at Pierce AMINOFF College, and also served on the advisory board for the Center for Healthy Aging in Santa Monica.

Aminoff ’s children are graduates of Santa Monica public schools.

She received her RADER bachelor’s degree in sociology from State University of New York at Stony Brook and a master’s in gerontology and master’s and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Southern California.

THINKING ‘POSITIVE’

Rader, a Santa Monica resident for the past eight years, was also elected to the board in November 2004. He is an entertainment and new media attorney working with Mitchell, Silberberg & Krupp LLP in Los Angeles. He previously served as vice presiSee TRUSTEES, page 17

Crustacean relation

Fabian Lewkowicz fabianl@smdp.com Shrimp Louie (left) helps distribute gifts to PAL kids during the Bubba Gump PAL Gift Drive on Wednesday at the Santa Monica Pier. Bubba Gump raised more than $200, much of it from bartenders and wait staffers donating their tips towards the gift drive.

Real tree advocates helping to keep tradition alive Fakes are easy, but most opt for real deal

BY KEVIN HERRERA Daily Press Staff Writer

Fabian Lewkowicz fabianl@smdp.com

CHOP SHOP: Johnny Bond (left), of the Delancey Street Foundation, trims a Christmas tree with his chain saw while Steve Vang lends support. While more work, most people prefer real trees.

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OLYMPIC BLVD. — When it comes to selecting a Christmas tree, Nancy Steitz wouldn’t dare go artificial.

“If it’s not the real thing, then I don’t want it,” said Steitz on Wednesday afternoon, while Christmas tree shopping at the Delancey Street Foundation lot on 20th Street. “(Artificial trees) don’t have that familiar scent, they’re non-recyclable and you just don’t get that real sense of Christmas pulling one out of a box and assembling it ... It’s really about tradition.”

Steitz isn’t alone. An estimated 31 million real Christmas trees are expected to be purchased in the United States alone this year,

according to a nationwide poll sponsored by the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA).

The poll, conducted by New York-based research firm Harris Interactive, projects that 27 percent of households in the U.S. will purchase a real tree this year, the highest percentage of households to report prior to Thanksgiving that they would buy a real tree.

Meanwhile, just 7 percent of households plan to purchase a new artificial tree in 2006, according to the poll. That number represents a 14-percent decline in whole numbers from 2005, and the fewest since 2002.

“Personally, I’m not surprised that fewer See CHRISTMAS TREES, page 16

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Opinion Commentary 4

A newspaper with issues

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

GUEST COMMENTARY BY DAVE WORKMAN

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Coming to neighborhood near you Editor:

The Planning Commission approved on Dec. 6 a zoning amendment that would allow construction of high-density, low-income housing projects of 50 units with no citizen input, reduced setbacks and reduced parking. This change, if approved by the City Council, will allow the city and Community Corporation of Santa Monica (CCSM) to saturate the Wilshire area, from Wilshire Boulevard to San Vicente Boulevard with high-density, low-income housing.

This proposal is partially in response to the civil rights lawsuit (“Lawsuit claims racism for rent,” Oct. 20, page 1) filed against Community Corporation of Santa Monica by an African American. He alleged he was discriminated against because CCSM only offered him units on 20th Street in the dangerous Pico Neighborhood. Having heard about the gang violence in and around the low-income housing projects in the Pico Neighborhood, he rejected what was offered, because he wanted to live in the more secure area of the Wilshire neighborhood. CCSM refused to rent him a unit other than in the Pico Neighborhood so he sued.

Now, to avoid further civil rights lawsuits, and to provide low-income housing opportunities in the Wilshire area equal to the number of projects in the Pico neighborhood (some blocks have two and three projects) the city is planning on developing 50-unit low-income housing projects throughout the Wilshire area, all the way to San Vicente Boulevard, without citizen input. Everyone should drive by the four-story monstrosity under construction at 15th Street and Broadway. It is totally out of scale with the single-family dwellings across the street. If the council approves this proposal, look for Ocean Avenue, Wilshire Boulevard, Montana Avenue all the east/west numbered streets and San Vicente Boulevard to be next on the city’s low-income housing development agenda. Of course, if this proposal is approved, based on the HUD study, “In the Crossfire, Gun Violence in Low Income Housing,” we will probably see an increase in crime around Wilshire.

Before the council votes on this measure, I urge everyone to read the HUD study “In the Crossfire” and drive by 15th and Broadway to see what SMRR and CCSM are planning for your neighborhood.

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Firearms in parks is a good idea Legislation proposed by outgoing U.S. Senator George Allen (R-VA) that would allow private citizens to carry their legally concealed handguns inside national parks seems sensible and long overdue.

People should not surrender their right of self-defense at the boundary of a national park, and when personal safety collides with political correctness, common sense dictates that civil rights should trump social bigotry against gun owners every time.

Of course, the vehemently anti-gun rights New York Times recently editorialized against Allen’s proposal, using the opportunity to once again mislead readers about the Second Amendment, falsely insisting that the amendment “ensures a collective right to bear arms.” That’s about what one should expect from a newspaper that hired Jayson Blair.

The Nashville Tennessean editorialized that maybe national parks could establish designated hunting areas.

Someone at the Times forgot that most state constitutions have provisions specifically protecting the right of individual citizens to bear arms, and the Tennessean failed to grasp that this legislation is about selfdefense in an emergency, not wildlife management.

Almost four years ago, columnist Bruce Mandelblit wrote about the growing national park crime problem on NewsMax.com.

He noted that several border area national parks “have turned into thoroughfares for the smuggling of illegal drugs and aliens.” He also revealed that the United States Park Ranger Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police keeps a list of the nation’s 10 most dangerous national parks. Poaching, dope smuggling, marijuana growing operations, illegal immigration — they’re all problems faced by a shrinking number of park rangers and enforcement officers.

In August 2005, the Christian Science Monitor also looked at rising crime in national parks, and it’s not just a problem for staff. Visitors to national parks are victims of assault, theft, vandalism, and on rare occasions, murder, as happened to three Yosemite National Park visitors in 1999, killed by a handyman at Yosemite’s Cedar Lodge. Critics of this plan need to justify their objections beyond the emotional level

of simply despising the concept of average citizens defending themselves with firearms.

Forty states now have “shall-issue” concealed carry laws, and eight more issue carry permits on a discretionary basis. Every one of these statutes require citizens to pass a criminal background check before they get a carry license or permit, and the majority of states require some form of firearms safety training. Rarely do any of these citizens get into trouble with the law. Allowing these people to carry their firearms legally inside national parks — they can already carry on national forest land — would pose no danger to the public, and it would put would-be criminals on notice that their next intended victim just might be capable of fighting back.

Opponents of common sense personal defense laws have consistently colored their arguments with dire predictions of traffic stop gunfights and barroom shootouts, but the facts invariably tend to diminish their rants to the level of paranoid hysteria.

Others, including the New York Times editorial board, argue that the solution to crime in national parks is to increase funding, but throwing money at a problem never solved it. Besides, as the Christian Science Monitor reported, the National Park Service’s law enforcement budget has increased more than $40 million over the past few years, yet there are fewer U.S. Park Police than there were before 9/11.

While the Times and other newspapers try to find out where the money went, Sen. Allen offered something more substantial than their alarmist vituperation. His proposal would guarantee that national park visitors don’t leave their civil rights, including the right to self-defense, at the park entrance.

And it would bring an end to a pattern of discrimination against a huge number of American citizens, who have taken responsibility for their own safety. That’s a concept that only seems foreign to gun control fanatics and newspaper editors. It makes sense to everyone else, and in the rhetoric of antigunners, if this saves just one life, it’s worth it.

Dave Workman is senior editor of Gun Week (www.gunweek.com).

You make the call.

We’ll print the answers.

Sound off every week on our Q-Line™. See page 5 for more info.

Visit us online at smdp.com

PUBLISHER Ross Furukawa ross@smdp.com EDITOR Michael Tittinger miket@smdp.com STAFF WRITERS Kevin Herrera kevinh@smdp.com Melody Hanatani melodyh@smdp.com NIGHT EDITOR Lori Bartlett lorib@smdp.com Lori Luechtefeld sandytoes@smdp.com SANTA MONICA PARENTING Nina Furukawa nina@smdp.com STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Fabian Lewkowicz fabianl@smdp.com ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Robbie P. Piubeni rob@smdp.com Rob Schwenker schwenker@smdp.com Andrew Swadling andrews@smdp.com ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Cynthia Vazquez advertising@smdp.com TRAFFIC MANAGER Connie Sommerville connies@smdp.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Alejandro Cesar Cantarero II alex@smdp.com PRODUCTION ARTIST Io Still production@smdp.com CLASSIFIEDS SALES MANAGER Annie Kotok anniek@smdp.com CIRCULATION Keith Wyatt Glenn Bolan INTERNS Maya Meinert Jessica Roberts Amy Kaufman news@smdp.com SPECIAL PROJECTS Dave Danforth dave@smdp.com EDITOR-AT-LARGE Carolyn Sackariason csackariason@smdp.com

A newspaper with issues 1427 Third Street Promenade, #202 Santa Monica, CA 90401 OFFICE (310) 458-PRESS (7737) FAX (310) 576-9913

Visit us online at smdp.com

The Santa Monica Daily Press is published six days a week, Monday through Saturday.

19,000 daily circulation, 46,450 daily readership. Circulation is audited and verified by Circulation Verification Council, 2006. Serving the City of Santa Monica, and the communities of Venice Beach, Brentwood, West LA. Members of CNPA, AFCP, CVC, Associated Press, IFPA, Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.

Published by Newlon Rouge, LLC © 2006 Newlon Rouge, LLC, all rights reserved.

OPINIONS EXPRESSED are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Santa Monica Daily Press staff. Guest editorials from residents are encouraged, as are letters to the editor. Letters will be published on a space-available basis. It is our intention to publish all letters we receive, except those that are libelous or are unsigned. Preference will be given to those that are e-mailed to editor@smdp.com. All letters must include the author’s name and telephone number for purposes of verification. Letters also may be mailed to our offices located at 1427 Third Street Promenade, Suite 202, Santa Monica, 90401, or faxed to (310) 576-9913. All letters and guest editorials are subject to editing for space and content.

Local Visit us online at smdp.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

COMMUNITY BRIEFS

Hypnosis

Giving to CLARE In this holiday season of giving, the CLARE Foundation welcomes members of the community to volunteer their time to help CLARE residents celebrate this joyful time of year.

Holiday decorating at CLARE will take place on Thursday, Dec. 21 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

CLARE’s holiday party for residents and alumni will be held on Friday, Dec. 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call Lacey Von Deak at (310) 314-6211 for volunteer opportunities associated with these events.

The CLARE Foundation offers services to all those seeking recovery from alcoholism and substance abuse. Founded in 1970, CLARE’s eleven residential and outpatient programs serve the Westside communities.

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Calling all Outstanding Women The Santa Monica Commission on the Status of Women (COSW) is now accepting nominations for its 2007 Outstanding Woman Leader (OWL) Award.

The Outstanding Woman Leader is an annual award presented to women by COSW who have demonstrated exceptional personal and/or professional dedication to improving the lives of women and girls in Santa Monica.

Past OWL award recipients have included Mimi Lind, founder of the Safe Families Domestic Violence Intervention Program at Venice Family Clinic and former director of the Westside Domestic Violence Network; Susan McCarthy, former City Manager for Santa Monica; and Gloria Curiel, Guadalupe Castro, Maria Leon-Vazquez and Rita Morales, founders of the Latina Youth Conference.

Nominees must meet the following criteria to be considered for the award: ■ The candidate has gone above and beyond in her effort to provide service to the women and girls of Santa Monica; ■ She has demonstrated commitment to women’s issues; ■ She has made a positive lasting impact on the community; ■ She has done work directly benefiting the women and girls of Santa Monica.

Both adult women (21 years old or older) and young women (under 21 years old at the time of nomination) are eligible. One woman will be awarded in each age group.

Applications are available at www.smgov.net/ccs/cosw. Nominations must be received by Dec. 31. OWL Award winners will be honored at the March 27, 2007 City Council meeting.

“The Commission is honored and excited to celebrate the important and often unrecognized work women are doing to serve the community and benefit the lives of other women and girls,” said Andrea Lipton, Chair of COSW. DP

Santa Monican ready for Rhodes trip Genevieve Quist, who graduated from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) in 2005, has been awarded a 2007 Rhodes Scholarship. She will begin her master’s in philosophy degree in comparative social policies at the University of Oxford, England, in October 2007.

Quist who lives in Santa Monica, Calif., is in her second year of teaching 6th grade English and social studies at Drew Middle School in South Central Los Angeles under the Teach for America (TFA) program. She has also served as TFA’s campaign coordinator and learning team leader, in addition to her work as a mentor for at-risk youth and a counselor for survivors of sexual abuse.

“It is an incredible honor to be chosen for the scholarship to study at Oxford. My experience as a core member for Teach for America has impressed upon me the importance of creating more educational and economic opportunities for the working poor,” said Quist. “I look forward to doing research and designing policies that will help provide America’s poor with meaningful choices over the quality of their lives and communities.”

Quist began her study at Cornell in 2002 and was named a Merrill Presidential Scholar in her senior year. The Merrill Presidential Scholarship is a recognition given to graduating seniors from the top 5 percent of their class who have demonstrated outstanding scholastic achievement, strong leadership ability and potential for contributing to society. Quist also received the Daniel Alpern Senior Award for exemplary scholarship, leadership and service to Cornell’s ILR School in 2005.

“She is a person who wants to make a difference in the world. She has a great interest in welfare and poverty issues,” said Peter Quist, a partner in Grubb, Quist and Associates, labor relations consultants, in Waterbury,Vt. The Rhodes Scholarships were created in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, British philanthropist and colonial pioneer. Selection criteria for scholars include “high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leaderDP ship and physical vigor.” Approximately 95 scholars are selected worldwide each year.

P R O U D LY B R O U G H T T O Y O U B Y For your consideration ...

With 2006 coming to a close, it’s not only time to establish goals for the coming year, but also to take stock of the year that was.

In Santa Monica, headlines ran the gamut from a smoking ban to the verdict in the Farmers’ Market crash trial, from a contentious election to the nationally renowned war protest “Arlington West.” Much like Time magazine’s annual selection of its “Person of the Year,” we are looking for that one individual, or group of individuals, who had the most profound impact on Santa Monica during the course of 2006.

This week’s Q-Line questions asks:

Who would you select as being Santa Monica’s person, or persons, of the year, having had the greatest impact on life in our city, for better or worse?

Call (310) 285-8106 before Friday at 5 p.m. and we’ll print your answers in next weekend’s edition of the Daily Press.

Please limit responses to a minute or less.

DO YOU HAVE COMMUNITY NEWS? Submit news releases to editor@smdp.com or by fax at (310) 576-9913 Visit us online at smdp.com

State 6

A newspaper with issues

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Taco Bell aims to mollify miffed customers

BY ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES — Taco Bell Corp. launched a newspaper ad blitz and sent its president on a string of media interviews Tuesday to persuade customers that its food is safe — even as the cause of the E. coli outbreak linked to the fast-food chain remained a mystery.

In an open letter to customers published in USA Today, The New York Times and other newspapers, Taco Bell President Greg Creed said he would support the creation of a coalition of food suppliers, competitors, government and other experts to explore ways to safeguard the food supply chain and public health.

The executive underscored the safety mantra in media interviews, telling Associated Press Television that he had assured his daughter, a college freshman in New York, and her friends that Taco Bell food is safe.

“I can assure you, I would not tell my daughter that unless I absolutely believed it,”

Creed said.

Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch said the safety issue was not limited to the Mexican-style food chain.

“Based on the information we have today ... we believe that this issue is not isolated to Taco Bell and that there is more need to ensure a safe food supply from the farm to the table,” he said.

Neither Creed nor Poetsch provided further details about how an industry safety coalition might work. Representatives of other fast food chains did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Bryan Silbermann, president of the Produce Marketing Association, a trade groups that represents restaurants, farmers and other companies in the produce supply chain, said such an industry coalition already exists. The group was formed two years ago and has been particularly active since September, when three people died and more than 200 became ill because of a spinach-related E. coli outbreak.

“The largest restaurant and supermarket

chains have been active in this process,” Silbermann said. “As far as I’m aware, Taco Bell has not been involved.”

Irvine-based Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc., ran ads in a number of papers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, where an outbreak of the bacteria has sickened 67 people who ate at the chain’s restaurants.

The chain’s effort to reassure customers was complicated Monday, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it could not confirm that scallions were the cause of the problem, as previously suspected, and that it was not ruling out any food as a possible culprit.

A sample of white onions taken from a Taco Bell restaurant in New York was found to be positive for a strain of the bacteria that hasn’t been linked to any cases of illnesses in the U.S. within 30 days, the FDA said.

Poetsch said the company believes its food is safe because green onions were removed from use last week and restau-

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rants have been sanitized. No additional cases of Taco Bell patrons falling ill with E. coli have been reported since Dec. 2, according to the FDA. Some fans of the chain weren’t concerned about getting sick.

“Even if they don’t know what caused the outbreak, Taco Bell restaurants are probably safer now than before because of all the scrutiny they’ve received,” said Bruce Brandywine, 41, who was one of eight people in line at lunchtime at the Taco Bell in DeWitt, a suburb of Syracuse, N.Y. Brandywine, a plumber, said he eats at Taco Bell about once a month. He planned to keep eating there, unless another episode of E. coli sickness is reported.

Separately, nearly three dozen people were sickened in recent days with symptoms consistent with E. coli infection after eating at a Taco John’s restaurant in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Authorities are also investigating reports that several other people became ill after eating at one of the chain’s restaurants in Albert Lea, Minn.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Senator wants businesses, workers to help uninsured

BY LAURA KURTZMAN Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO — Staking out the middle ground in the burgeoning health care debate, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata this week outlined a plan to cover 4.2 million uninsured Californians, mostly the working poor.

Perata’s plan would require both employers and employees who do not now have health insurance to start paying for it.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is developing a health care reform proposal, has opposed making employers pay in the past.

But Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Kim Belshe said Tuesday that he does not rule out the idea if it is part of a comprehensive health care reform of “shared responsibility” — a term that Perata also used — between employers, individuals, government, health providers and health plans.

The plan put forward by Perata, DOakland, falls short of the Democratic goal of universal coverage, and other Democrats are expected to go further. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, is working on a proposal to cover every Californian, although he has not yet said how he would do it.

Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles, plans to reintroduce her bill to create a single payer system, although the governor vetoed it this year. Given the governor’s opposition, Perata said it made more sense to offer a compromise proposal for now.

“For those people who want universal coverage, this doesn’t get that done,” Perata said. But he said with the governor now focused on health care, the Legislature had a “once in a generation opportunity to do something significant, important and longlasting.”

Kuehl, who is the incoming chair of the Senate Health Committee, said she supported Perata’s plan as a first step toward eventually covering everyone under a single-payer system.

Perata’s proposal relies heavily on gaining more federal funding through Medi-Cal and the Healthy Families program, something he said was more likely to happen now that there is a Democratic Congress.

It does not require any general fund money and therefore could pass with a majority vote, which Democrats could provide by themselves.

But Republicans criticized the idea of forcing employers to provide health insurance or pay a percentage of their payroll to fund the new state program. Small businesses also mobilized, saying it would put them out of business.

Betty Jo Toccoli, president of the California Small Business Association, said her members worry that they will be forced to cover their workers’ families. While she said 86 percent pay at least 70 percent of their employees’ health premiums, only 15 percent insure dependents.

“It’s strictly a matter of cost,” she said.

“They just can’t afford $1,200, $1,500 a month for a family plan.”

Health insurers also questioned a requirement to cover all applicants no matter how sick they were and asked whether health plans would be compensated for the risk they would be taking.

Perata is calling on the state’s Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board to operate an

insurance pool and use its leverage to negotiate with health plans to lower costs. The board also would set benefit levels.

The poorest working people would be allowed to buy into Medi-Cal’s managed care plans. To do that, however, the federal government would have to expand the program to include families earning three times as much as the current maximum. For a family of three, that would mean increasing it to $48,000 a year.

Working people who could not prove they had insurance would have to pay more on their income tax returns.

STATE BRIEFS VENTURA

Third sailor tied to murder A third sailor has been tied to the killing of a Camarillo father shot to death in front of his condominium.

Matthew Gerald Toerner, 19, who shipped off to Okinawa two days after the Dec. 1 death of John Marmo, was being held by military authorities in Okinawa pending his return to Ventura County, sheriff’s Capt.

Ron Nelson said.

Last week, Marmo’s ex-wife Rebecca Braswell, 26, and her friend Shannon Butler, 23, were charged with killing Marmo.

Toerner, Braswell and Butler are Seabees stationed at the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme.

“We believe he was at the scene of the killing,” Nelson said of Toerner.

Braswell and Marmo, who divorced in early 2005, were involved in a bitter custody battle over their 4-year-old daughter, court records showed.

A fourth Seabee, Seth Hardy, was arrested last week in connection with two attempts on Marmo’s life. Marmo, 27, found two homemade bombs in October and investigators believe they bombs were meant to kill Marmo.

Butler is also being charged with attempted murder in connection with the two bombs.

Hardy, 20, also faces attempted murder charges in connection with the bombs, but investigators don’t believe he was involved in the Dec. 1 shooting, Nelson said.

LOS ANGELES

City collects unexpected gift A man who died 16 years ago and left $442,173 to the city, but only $1 to each to five siblings, had his gift accepted by the city.

The City Council voted Tuesday to accept the bequest from Theodore DiFiore, who was 79 when he died Nov. 17, 1990, in a modest downtown apartment. The council and mayor will decide how the money will be spent.

DiFiore’s handwritten will from 1976, which was updated several times before his death, specified that the city get his money and each of his five siblings was to receive $1, attorney Robert Pasquinelli said.

“I think he was just an ornery guy and why he chose the city of Los Angeles, I don’t have any idea,” Pasquinelli said. “It was an interesting probate in that for years the city didn’t know what to do with this.”

Pasquinelli’s father was hired by one of DiFiore’s sisters to fight the bequest to the city and Pasquinelli inherited the case when his father died in 1998. The lawyer said the sister wouldn’t grant an interview.

DiFiore’s assets mostly consisted of an old gas station and auto repair shop in the San Jose area.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Advocates want feds to clean up Midway

By The Associated Press

HONOLULU — Lead poisoning is killing thousands of Laysan albatrosses each year at Midway Atoll, the American Bird Conservancy said Tuesday, adding the federal government should allocate funds to clean it up.

The birds are not endangered but the World Conservation Union says they are vulnerable to extinction.

As many as 10,000 Laysan albatross chicks may die each year from being exposed to lead

paint chips at old military buildings on Midway, the American Bird Conservancy said.

That’s equivalent to about 5 percent of the chicks hatched on the island.

Many Laysan chicks that nest within approximately 15 feet of building structures suffer from “droopwing,” the conservancy said in a news release.

Afflicted chicks are unable to raise their wings and thus drag them on the ground, giving the birds broken bones and open sores.

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“This level of mortality in Laysan chicks hinders efforts to conserve this species and could have population-level impacts,” said Jennifer Arnold, director of American Bird Conservancy’s Seabird Program. “Midway Atoll hosts the largest nesting colony for this species in the world, making this cleanup effort a top priority.”

Midway is one of the islands in the newly established Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument.

Witnesses help link defendant to Reno’s deadliest fire ever

BY MARTIN GRIFFITH Associated Press Writer

RENO, Nev. — A tenant testified this week that an angry, intoxicated Valerie Moore threatened him shortly before burning mattresses outside his hotel room erupted into Reno’s deadliest fire.

Maxie Birch said Moore told him “You will be gotten” two hours before flames broke out at the historic downtown Mizpah Hotel, killing 12 and injuring 31.

Birch’s testimony came during a preliminary hearing in Reno Justice Court for Moore, who’s charged with 12 counts of first-degree murder and one count of firstdegree arson in the Oct. 31 blaze. The hearing was continued until Monday, when Justice of the Peace Edward Dannan is expected to rule whether there’s sufficient evidence to bind Moore over for trial in District Court.

Moore, a cook in a nearby casino, had been paroled last year after serving 17 years in a Nevada prison for second-degree murder for killing an unemployed Reno waitress in 1987.

The 47-year-old Moore, in jail clothing and shackles, stared intently at witnesses but did not speak during the hearing.

Another tenant, Brett Stark, testified that Moore told him about a week before the Halloween night fire that she hated most men and would like to “burn” several.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Missing on Mt. Hood Three days after party’s last contact, there’s no trace of lost climbers

9

DUCKS IN A ROW: 1,000 mallards die in befuddling case

BY JESSE HARLAN ALDERMAN Associated Press Writer

BY JOSEPH B. FRAZIER Associated Press Writer

COOPER SPUR, Ore. — Three days after the last contact with a climbing party lost on the treacherous north face of Mount Hood, it was boiling down Wednesday to some discouraging numbers.

High winds. Days passed. Low temperatures. A finite number of volunteers qualified and available to operate in those conditions on the steep ridges and glaciers of Oregon’s tallest peak.

But despite no trace of the three men reported missing Sunday, searchers mounted another effort Wednesday.

The first search team set out at 7 a.m., about an hour before full light, said Pete Hughes of the Hood River County Sheriff ’s Department.

Hughes said the searchers Wednesday would stay well below the summit at 11,239 feet.

“We will stay at the 6,000-foot level and the tree lines,” he said.

Crews may get some help from heat-seeking unmanned aircraft provided by a Colorado company and pinpoint cell phone detection equipment from another hightech company, Hughes said.

Even if those tools locate the missing climbers, bad weather may prevent crews from climbing high enough to rescue them, Hughes said.

“If anybody is above the 7,000-foot range, we’re not going to be able to get to them,” Hughes said. “And we’re probably not going to be able to get to them by Thursday either, unless there happens to be a break in the weather.”

Frozen rain fell on the area late Tuesday and early Wednesday, making the snow wetter and the climbing harder, and signaling more snow on the upper elevations. More bad weather was expected.

“We will stay at the 6,000-foot level and the tree lines.”

PETE HUGHES HOOD RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT

“The next 48 hours is not looking very good,” Hughes said.

“You’ve got to be optimistic. There’s a slim chance they’re going to get out of there,” said Bernie Wells of the Hood River Crag Rats, a veteran of more than 30 years of Mount Hood rescues, as he transported six rescue workers Wednesday morning on a Sno-Cat. He said searchers don’t know how much food the missing climbers took, but the

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assumption was they took only enough for the two-day trip they started last week.

Searchers will focus on the mountain’s lower canyons on the chance that two climbers who descended for help got that far.

Aided by a new group of cross country skiers, rescuers planned two staging camps on the north and south sides so teams can head to the summit quickly if the weather breaks, Hughes said.

The last, and only, contact with the party came Sunday in a four-minute cell phone call from Kelly James, 48, who called his family from a snow cave high on the mountain to say the group was in trouble and that the other two had descended to find help.

Hughes said Tuesday that calls to James’ cell had produced “pings” allowing searchers to approximate where he was but that nobody had answered the calls.

Hughes said tracing the pings put James at about the 11,000-foot level.

Blizzard-force winds Tuesday limited the search to about the 7,200-foot level for some crews, although others got to 9,000 feet, he said.

“It’s all about time and weather,” said Chris Guertin of the Hood River County sheriff ’s office, which has been coordinating the rescue effort.

An Oregon National Guard helicopter was able to survey the lower half of the mountain Tuesday but bad weather kept it from getting much above 6,000 feet.

BOISE, Idaho — State wildlife agencies and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Wednesday were testing tissue samples from more than 1,000 mallard ducks that are dying in a bizarre cluster along a southeastern Idaho creek bed, hoping to rule out an avian flu outbreak.

The ducks mysteriously began dying last week in and around Land Springs Creek, near the remote town of Oakley. Ducks that gather in the area year-round and migratory mallards from Canada were still slowly perishing at the creek, staggering and struggling to breathe before collapsing, said Dave Parrish, regional supervisor for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

“It’s a mystery,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this in 20 years here. There were dead mallards everywhere — in the water and on the banks. It was odd, they were in a very small area.”

Parrish said state wildlife biologists and federal investigators are not ruling out any cause of death. The symptoms — bacterial lesions in the lungs and hemorrhaging in the heart wall —a likely point to a bacterial infection, not bird flu, Parrish said.

Tissue from the ducks’ intestinal tract and water samples from the creek were sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service national laboratory in Wisconsin for testing. Samples were also sent to the University of Idaho and Washington State University.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Meatpacking plants raided in six states

BY KIM NGUYEN Associated Press Writer

GREELEY, Colo. — Outside a meatpacking plant fence, a frustrated Tony Garcia watched as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swarmed inside to arrest illegal immigrants suspected in an identity-theft scheme.

“We need help,” he yelled. “We need answers.”

Immigration authorities in Washington said Wednesday that 1,282 people were arrested at Swift & Co. plants in Greeley and five other states,. They said it was the largest such workplace crackdown on illegal immigration in U.S. history.

But there were few other answers for people like Garcia, who were left to wait and watch as dozens of workers were taken to law enforcement buses as agents swept through the plants.

At the Swift plant in Grand Island, Neb., as many as 250 workers from a shift of more than 600 were detained, local union spokesman Mike Mary told The Washington Post.

In Colorado, Garcia worried about the schoolchildren whose parents were arrested at the Swift plant in Greeley.

“Who is going to pick them up?” he asked.

The raids followed a 10-month investigation into illegal immigrants suspected of

buying or stealing other people’s identities to secure U.S. jobs. The scheme may have had hundreds victims, officials said.

ICE said 65 of the suspects were arrested on criminal charges including identity theft, and the other 1,217 were held on immigration charges alone. ICE said the investigation is continuing and more criminal charges were possible.

“I’m glad that ICE is enforcing our immigration laws in light of the illegal immigration crisis we face across the country.”

SEN. WAYNE ALLARD R-COLO

The arrested workers were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Peru, Laos, Sudan, Ethiopia and other countries, ICE said.

Immigration officials last month informed Swift that it would remove unauthorized workers on Dec. 4, but Swift asked a federal judge to prevent agents from conducting the raid, arguing it would cause “substantial and irreparable injury” to its business.

The company estimated a raid would remove up to 40 percent of its 13,000 work-

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ers. Greeley-based Swift describes itself as the world’s second-largest meat processor with sales of about $9 billion.

After a closed hearing, a judge on Thursday rejected Swift’s request, clearing the way for Tuesday’s raids at the plants in Greeley; Grand Island; Cactus, Texas; Hyrum, Utah; Marshalltown, Iowa; and Worthington, Minn.

The six plants represent all of Swift’s domestic beef processing capacity and 77 percent of its pork processing capacity.

Advocates of stricter immigration control praised the raids and pointed out that they targeted people suspected of committing other crimes in addition to being in the U.S. illegally.

“I’m glad that ICE is enforcing our immigration laws in light of the illegal immigration crisis we face across the country,” Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., said in a statement.

Others called the raids heavy-handed and

criticized the effect on families.

“They are taking mothers and fathers, and we’re really concerned about the children,” said the Rev. Clarence Sandoval of St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church in Logan, Utah. “I’m getting calls from mothers saying they don’t know where their husband was taken.”

United Food and Commercial International Workers union spokeswoman Jill Cashen told the Post workers taken from the Worthington, Minn., plant were bused to South Dakota.

She said Tuesday that attorneys for the union would ask federal judges in all six states for injunctions to halt the raids.

Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department also pledged to ensure that any Mexicans caught up in the raids have “their human rights fully respected, and are given all the necessary assistance, orientation and consular protection.”

No charges were filed against Swift.

In a written statement, President and CEO Sam Rovit said the company has never knowingly hired illegal workers and does not condone the practice.

Swift uses a government pilot program to confirm whether Social Security numbers are valid. Company officials have raised questions about the program’s ability to detect when two people are using the same number.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

11

Key hearing resumes in polygamy sect leader’s criminal case

For sale: Impractical jet

BY JENNIFER DOBNER

Associated Press Writer

BY DAN JOLING

Associated Press Writer

ST. GEORGE, Utah — The leader of a polygamous sect returns to court Thursday to learn if he will go to trial on charges connected to a teen’s marriage, a case that could make him the most significant catch since authorities swept the Arizona-Utah border in the 1940s.

In 1944, 15 men were arrested and convicted of conspiracy and transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes.

Like Warren Jeffs, they belonged to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which believes in polygamy as a way to attain glory in heaven.

“All of the really significant figures were arrested and imprisoned,” said Martha Bradley, a University of Utah professor and author of a history of the 1944 and 1953 raids in an area now known as Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah.

Decades later, the allegations against Jeffs are far different but still center on a key tenet: Faithful followers must obey their leader. Jeffs, 50, is charged with rape as an accomplice. He is accused of forcing a 14year-old girl to marry her 19-year-old cousin in 2001.

“This was the darkest time of my entire life,” the woman testified Nov. 21.

Fifth District Judge James Shumate will hear more evidence Thursday and decide whether there is probable cause to put Jeffs on trial.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The state jet will soon have a “for sale” sign on it.

Governor Sarah Palin announced this week the aircraft will be offered on eBay. “The purchase of the jet was impractical and unwise and it’s time to get rid of it,” Palin said. “In the meantime, I am keeping my promise not to set foot on the jet.”

Palin said she has directed Department of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan to sell the jet. The new commissioner said the aircraft is not appropriate for his department.

“The jet doesn’t meet the Department of Public Safety’s mission profile due to the requirement for long, paved runways,” Monegan said.

Former Gov. Frank Murkowski ordered the purchase of the 1984 Westwind II over the objection of minority Democratic legislators and many Alaskans. The jet became a high-profile campaign issue in the Republican primary, where Palin trounced the incumbent in August.

The cost of the jet in November 2005 was just under $2.7 million from Aircraft Marketing Ltd., a firm in Las Vegas.

Murkowski pushed hard to acquire a jet.

Murkowski and members of his administration said the swifter aircraft was needed for responding to emergencies around the state. They said the jet could help transport inmates who are being held in Arizona prisons due to prison overcrowding in Alaska, avoiding restrictions on how many inmates

can be shipped by commercial aircraft. They also said a jet would be cheaper to operate than the older turboprops in the state fleet.

Murkowski first tried to buy a jet using federal Homeland Security money. Federal officials rejected the request in August 2004 and said it failed to meet parameters for anti-terror money.

In 2005, Murkowski put $1.4 million in the state budget proposal for a jet but the line item was removed by legislators.

Murkowski finally swung the deal with existing appropriations and the sale of one of the department’s turboprop aircraft.

The department had used state-owned aircraft 60 percent of the time and made it available to the governor the rest of the time.

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Detractors accused Murkowski of wanting a jet for comfort and speed. They said turboprop airplanes were more practical for shorter, unpaved Alaska runways.

Palin announce before she took office that she would sell the jet.

The state has used eBay in the past to sell assets, including the Bartlett, a ferry in the Alaska Marine Highway fleet, and several aircraft.

The state policy on surplus property is to use eBay for high value, mobile assets because the online auction service offers the widest possible exposure for those types of sales at a low cost, Palin said.

She has authorized the Department of Public Safety to use the jet until it’s sold.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Under review

BY JENNIFER LOVEN Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — President Bush has decided the general direction he wants to take U.S. policy on Iraq and has asked his staff to work out the details as he wraps up a highly public review of the war and its aims.

Military commanders who met Tuesday with Bush sought more advisers to train the Iraqis, not more U.S. combat troops in Iraq.

They also urged the administration to pour significantly more funding into equipment for Iraqi security forces, according to a defense specialist familiar with the meetings.

Gen. John Abizaid, top U.S. commander in the Middle East, and Gen. George Casey, the top general in Iraq, want more armored vehicles, body armor and other critical equipment for the Iraqis, said the defense specialist, who requested anonymity because the discussions were private.

Abizaid has told the Senate Armed Services Committee that troop levels in Iraq need to stay fairly stable and the use of military adviser teams expanded. About 140,000 U.S. troops and about 5,000 advisers are in Iraq.

The message to Bush, the defense specialist said, is that the U.S. cannot withdraw a substantial number of combat troops by early 2008, as suggested in the Iraq Study Group report, because the Iraqis will not be ready to assume control of their country.

Bush is delaying making public his new Iraq policy plan in part to allow officials to work out the funding, he said.

Bush scheduled a session Wednesday with senior defense officials at the Pentagon.

He already has visited this week with State Department officials to review options, hosted a few outside Iraq experts, and met with Iraq’s Sunni vice president, Tariq alHashemi. Last week, the president held talks

President wraps up Iraq strategy sessions

with the leader of the largest Shiite bloc in Iraq’s parliament, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, and with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the president’s staunchest war ally.

Iraq has proposed that its troops assume primary responsibility for security in Baghdad early next year and that U.S. troops be shifted to the capital’s periphery, The New York Times reported on its Web site Tuesday night.

Iraq’s national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, told the Times that the plan was presented during Bush’s meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Amman, Jordan, on Nov. 30.

Bush’s meetings at the Pentagon were expected to cap his high-profile outreach effort, which surrounded last week’s presentation of the Iraq Study Group report, a blistering review from an independent, bipartisan commission.

The Iraq Study Group recommended

most combat troops be withdrawn by early 2008 and the U.S. mission changed from combat to training and support of Iraqi units. It also called for an energetic effort to seek a diplomatic solution to Iraq’s violence by engaging its neighbors, including Iran and Syria.

Bush, cool to both of the commission’s central ideas, had been expected to follow his information-gathering with a preChristmas announcement of his own altered blueprint for U.S. involvement in Iraq. But the White House, citing the president’s request for more time to refine and game out new policies, said Tuesday that Bush would wait until early next year.

“It’s not ready yet,” White House press secretary Tony Snow said. “There may be some areas on which there are still going to be debates, but most have kind of been ironed out.”

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Stores anticipate last-minute rush MERCHANTS, from page 1

“November results were mixed by retailer, by segment and at the beginning of the month,” said Michael Neimira, ICSC’s chief economist and director of research. “Retailers cited three reasons for the results — tough comparison with hurricane-induced replacement demand in the South, pockets of mild weather that curbed seasonal apparel demand and lower gasoline prices relative to last year that cut into wholesale clubs, which report gasoline sales.”

For December, ICSC expects sales to increase by 2 to 3 percent over last year. As for the 2006 holiday season — which traditionally begins the day after Thanksgiving — ICSC has lowered those expectations due to the possibility of some lingering “softness” in demand in some sectors, Niemira said.

Along Montana Avenue, one of the premier shopping destinations on the Westside, merchants reported a steady flow of shoppers, particularly after the shopping district’s Holiday Walk event last week. Sales were mixed, however, with some stores reporting a slight gain while others noticed a minor drop off when compared to last year.

“People tend to wait until the last minute to buy children’s bikes because they are a tough gift to hide in the house.”

ANDREW SMITH CO-OWNER OF BIKE ATTACK ON MAIN STREET.

“We’re always busy. It’s a great time of year for us,” said Liza Hewitt, manager of Babystyle on Montana Avenue, which specializes in toys and apparel for infants and young children.“For our demographic, people are really excited to be buying gifts or registering for a baby. It’s an exciting time and a real happy time. People are just really excited to be buying something for a baby, which I think sets us apart from other retail stores.”

At nearby Room With A View, which sells home furnishings and accessories, sales have dipped by about 25 percent in comparison to this time last year, reported co-owner Tom Alesio.

“It’s been a steady holiday season, but still slower than in years past,” said Alesio. “But then again, the economy isn’t quite where it could be ... It’s not the time right now to be buying a big armoire.”

Alesio and other merchants are expecting a rush of lastminute shoppers to help raise revenues.

“We’re stocked and loaded for the holidays,” said Andrew Smith, co-owner of Bike Attack on Main Street, another trendy destination for shoppers looking for unique gifts that cannot be found at a department store. “We still have a pretty hefty inventory right now, but get it while it’s hot, because we don’t expect (bikes) to last long.”

Smith expects to sell even more as Christmas approaches.

“People tend to wait until the last minute to buy children’s bikes because they are a tough gift to hide in the house,” Smith said.

LETTING THE GAMES BEGIN

As expected, electronics are the hottest items of the season, with shoppers picking up iPods, digital cameras, cell phones and video game consoles like the new Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii. So far, sales of electronics have jumped by 2 percent when compared to last year, according to Garry Butcher, vice president of research for Macerich, which operates 75 shopping centers including Santa Monica Place mall.

Sales of gift cards continue their upward trend as well, with sales increasing by 5 percent throughout the Macerich portfolio. Industry experts are closely watching gift card sales, which traditionally are not used until after Christmas.

A recent study by Loyola Marymount University found that gift cards for Home Depot, Target and Wal-Mart were in high demand, whereas gift cards from PetSmart, Victoria Secret and Tiffany & Co. were not because they offer fewer products in fewer locations.

At the Angel City Bookstore and Gallery on Pier Avenue, sales couldn’t be any worse, said owner Rocco Ingala.

“December is our worst month of the year,” Ingala said.

“This really isn’t the place to come for the casual shopper.

We’re really for the die-hard book lovers who love antiquarian books who believe the older the book the better.”

Being near the beach seems to hurt Angel City during the winter months, according to Ingala. However, during the summers, sales can pick up dramatically.

“I guess it really just depends on what type of business you’re in,” said Ingala. “The larger chain stores on the promenade — I’m sure they’re doing well right now and will continue to do so, whereas specialty stores like mine are going to continue to see modest sales.

“People really have money to spend. I see them spending $20 on a cappuccino at the coffee house next store. It just so happens that they aren’t spending it on books.” kevinh@smdp.com

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Landlord’s murder trial closer following hearing BLACK WIDOWS, from page 1

delay the scheduling until Jan. 18.

“I expect on Jan. 18 to be able to set the matter,” Sklar told Bianco on Wednesday.

The delays are due largely to the fact that Sklar joined the process months after the two so-called “Black Widows” were charged with murder in LA Superior Court in July, while Golay’s attorney, Roger Jon Diamond, has been present from the beginning.

Diamond has repeatedly requested a speedy trial on behalf of Golay, but since the two women are being tried together, the judge must meet the needs of both defendants.

“There’s tremendous work generated by law enforcement [officials] and I’m working through their investigation and conducting one of our own,” said Sklar, explaining why he requested another extension.

Diamond objected to the extension, citing the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which grants the accused the right to a speedy trial. He asked that the commissioner set a preliminary hearing date within 10 days.

Bianco denied the request, saying there was a good cause for postponement considering the new information brought to Sklar’s attention through the investigations.

Diamond seemed flabbergasted that something as simple as scheduling a preliminary trial could take so much time.

“It’s a very unimportant procedure. It’s an ancient relic from the older days,” he said following Wednesday’s hearing.

When the attorneys return in January, they will report to Supervising Judge David Wesley’s courtroom instead of the commissioner’s room, where they had struggled to set a preliminary hearing date for the past couple of months. The attorneys will have to schedule a preliminary hearing within 30 days of the Jan. 18 meeting.

On Wednesday, Bianco also rejected a request

by Diamond to allow Golay to leave the court-

house and return to her cell in LA County prison immediately after every hearing. According to Diamond, his client was stuck at the Downtown LA Courthouse until the early evening following the last hearing, in November.

Bianco ruled that Golay is not entitled to special treatment over the hundreds of inmates who arrive at the courthouse every day and stay until the afternoon.

The women were arrested in May after allegedly cashing in on millions of dollars in life insurance payouts for Kenneth McDavid and Paul Vados. Those federal charges were

“It’s a very unimportant procedure.”

ROGER JON DIAMOND GOLAY ATTORNEY

dropped two weeks after state murder charges were filed on July 31.

Diamond said he plans soon to submit a brief explaining his appeal of the dismissal of federal charges “without prejudice,” which means those same charges could be refiled against Golay and Rutterschmidt if they win the murder case.

Both women, who are charged with two counts of murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder for financial gain, have plead not guilty.

Investigators believe the 75-year-old Golay and Hungarian-born Rutterschmidt, 73, befriended Vados and McDavid when they were homeless and later convinced them to sign the women onto their life insurance policies. Both McDavid, 51, and Vados, 73, were killed in similar, but separate, hit-andruns in 2005 and 1999, respectively. melodyh@smdp.com

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Local 16

A newspaper with issues

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Oversight Committee needed for ‘BB’ advice SCHOOL BOARD, from page 1

39, a state measure that passed in 2000 allowing building bonds if approved by at least 55 percent of voters.

The oversight committee is to include at least seven members. Some members of the audience suggested the committee should include members of the Ad Hoc Facilities Committee, which was charged with conducting a comprehensive study on all school buildings. The new committee should also seek the help of former members of the Proposition X oversight committee, which formed after that measure passed in 1998, weighing in on the construction and acquisition of buildings, how to decrease class sizes and add computer and science labs.

“Please take advantage of the many perspectives the community has to bring to the process,” said Shari Davis, chairwoman of Community for Excellent Public Schools. Davis was also the last chairwoman of the Proposition X Oversight Committee before it was disbanded.

The workshop also included a presentation on the “dos and don’t’s” following the passage of a school bond measure.

Daniel Villanueva from the Los Angeles County Office of Education suggested school officials keep the committee apprised of all things involving Measure BB funding, since some members will probably be cornered by parents complaining about why defects in their children’s school building haven’t been rectified.

“You want to make sure the committee is well informed — the eyes and ears,” Villanueva said.

Create a list of short-term and long-term goals so it appears to the public that change is constantly happening, he said.

The school board adjourned the meeting until tonight, at which point they are expected to open the application soliciting process for the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee. melodyh@smdp.com

Artificial trees less trouble CHRISTMAS TREES, from page 3

people are buying a new fake tree, considering some of the gimmicks the fake tree makers are coming up with,” said Beth Walterscheidt, president of the NCTA. “Upside down trees last year and now black trees this year. You can’t have a traditional Christmas with that.”

Walterscheidt credited the projected increase in sales of real trees to a national campaign by tree farmers to get the “Y” generation — children of baby boomers — buying Christmas trees for their families and keeping the tradition alive.

“It is a hassle, especially because we take ours to be recycled to cut down on the guilt, but there’s nothing like sitting with the family and decorating the tree.”

NANCY STEITZ SANTA MONICA RESIDENT

“There’s just no better way to start the Christmas season than by going out as a family and picking your fresh Christmas tree,” contends Walterscheidt.

The poll found that those between the ages of 18 and 29 prefer a real tree over an artificial one because of tradition and a concern about the environment.

In Santa Monica, where living “green” is a way of life, residents seems to prefer the real thing over the artificial, which are often made from plastics.

While fake trees are easy to assemble, last longer than real trees and can be less expensive while still offering a wide variety of options, including pre-lit trees, Steitz and other customers at Delancey Street feel going real is the best option.

“It is a hassle, especially because we take ours to be recycled to cut down on the guilt, but there’s nothing like sitting with the family and decorating the tree,” Steitz said. “We put up my grandmother’s homemade ornaments, turn on some Christmas music and have fun.”

Those who purchase trees at Delancey Street are helping those less fortunate as well. The non-profit, self-help group works with former drug addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes and ex-convicts, teaching self-reliance and job skills.

“We’ve had a steady stream of people since the day after Thanksgiving,” said Jorge Blanco, the lot manager for Delancey Street in Santa Monica. “Over the weekends, we’re packed.

People are pretty loyal to us. They come back year after year, and it’s been busy. People seem to want the real thing.”

Firs from Delancey Street and other local lots can run anywhere from $24 for a 2-foot to 4-foot tree, and as high as $250 for a 10-footer, depending on the species. Still, options abound, with stores like the Right-Aid at 1808 Wilshire Blvd. selling real 6-foot trees for around $20.

FAKE FIRS

For artificial trees, prices range anywhere from $80 for a 7-foot, pre-lit Douglas fir from Wal-Mart, to $1,250 for a 9foot, pre-lit Royal Victorian spruce.

Those who manufacture artificial trees know they are up against decades of tradition, but they believe they offer an option for those who are too busy to go to a tree lot, tie their selection to the roof of their BMW and then take it home and have to decorate it.

There are also families who have small children who are allergic to real trees, as well as office buildings that have rules against having real trees in lobbies because they pose a fire hazard.

A study by the San Francisco-based market research firm Vizu found that 26 percent of those who have purchased a real tree found vacuuming needles to be the biggest hassle, while 16 percent hate the task of unbundling and stringing Christmas tree lights. Removing ornaments and disposing of the tree were also cited as hassles.

The study also found that 57 percent of those questioned said they would be using an artificial tree this year.

“I think people are noticing that real-looking, meticulously crafted trees can be a better experience than the real thing,” said Thomas Harman of Balsam Hill Christmas Tree Co., one of the largest producers of artificial trees in the U.S., having supplied trees for TV shows such as “Ellen” and “The Megan Mullally Show,” as well as the Bill Clinton Presidential Library.

“With trees looking this real,” Harman added, “there is no need to go through the hassle of dealing with a real tree.” kevinh@smdp.com

NationalLocal Visit us online at smdp.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

17

Three new board members look to hit ground running TRUSTEES, from page 3

dent of business affairs for MGM Television Distribution, where he was responsible for all domestic pay, free, cable and syndication television licensing.

In addition to serving with SMC, Rader is also a board member of the Bayside District Corp., which helps City Hall promote and manage downtown. He is also a board member and former chairperson of his neighbor-

hood group — the Wilshire Montana Neighborhood Coalition.

Rader graduated magna cum laude from Harvard law School and has a master’s in sociology from Stanford and graduated with highest honors from Harvard College, with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.

Rader teachers entertainment law at Pepperdine Law School as an adjunct professor.

The first order of business for the chair

and vice chair will be helping three new board members adjust to the process.

Currently, the new members — education advocate Louise Jaffe; former judge, council member and adjunct professor at SMC, David Finkel; and SMC professor Andrew Walzer — are visiting with different departments to learn about financial aid, library services and other aspects of how the college functions.

Aminoff said funding will be a focus as

SMC looks to adjust to a new funding formula for community colleges. Student retention will also be a priority.

“We have three new board members, but each one of them comes with a great deal of experience in education,” Aminoff said. “I think it will be a smooth transition and I look forward to working with all of them.

“It’s going to be a very positive year.” kevinh@smdp.com

Little house for prairie Environmental groups want federal government to start looking out for prarie dogs

By The Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. — Environmental groups on Wednesday challenged the federal government’s decision not to protect the Gunnison’s prairie dog under the Endangered Species Act, saying the finding was ordered by a Bush administration appointee based on “junk science.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in February it would not conduct an in-depth review toward listing the animal as threatened or endangered. The agency said a petition from environmentalists did not present substantial information that a listing may be warranted.

But Wednesday’s lawsuit alleges agency biologists were ordered by Julie MacDonald, a civil engineer without training in biology, to reverse their original finding that the listing should be considered.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., against Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. Among those suing were three biologists identified as having extensively studied the species.

The Interior Department referred a request for comment to the Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington, which did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

The environmentalists and biologists want a federal judge to declare that the defendants violated the Endangered Species Act and to set aside the decision on the listing.

The animal is native to central and northern New Mexico and parts of Colorado, Arizona and Utah.

Fish and Wildlife admits the species has declined by 97 percent over the past century, the lawsuit said. The Gunnison’s prairie dog, slightly smaller than four other North American prairie dog species, is threatened by habitat loss, poisoning, shooting and plague, the lawsuit said.

The federal agency found as early as Sept. 30, 2005, that a listing might be warranted, and maintained that position in a series of drafts through Jan. 13, 2006, the challengers contend.

The agency intended to initiate a 12-month status review.

However, it then changed its position — a decision the lawsuit said was not made by agency biologists and not based on the species’ status or the threats it faced.

MacDonald, a special assistant in the Interior Department, directed the regional office to change the decision from positive to negative, and the Washington office made the revisions, the lawsuit alleged.

The environmentalists contend the finding violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to base the decision on science or to consider whether the species is in danger in a significant portion of its range or is hurt by drought, oil and gas activities and sprawl. The lawsuit alleges the decision also improperly relied on promised future measures for management.

Santa Fe-based Forest Guardians and 73 other organizations and individuals requested a threatened or endangered species listing in February 2004 for the prairie dog.

Forest Guardians, the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Center for Native Ecosystems and the Utah Environmental Congress sued in December 2004.

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Business 18

A newspaper with issues

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Economy set for a landing

BUSINESS BRIEFS A very green holiday This holiday season, Santa Monicans are being urged to use their dollars to protect the environment. In October, Santa Monica launched the Green Business Certification Program (GBC), which certifies and recognizes green businesses in the community. A green business conserves resources, protects the environment, benefits the local economy and prevents pollution from entering our air and the Santa Monica Bay. Santa Monica would like to introduce the six businesses that have gone green and become the first participants in this program.

■ The Library Alehouse — featuring microbrews, organic snacks and other foods.

■ The Ambrose — a luxury hotel.

■ Patagonia — retailer of recreational clothing.

■ Euphoria Love RAWvolution — healthy vegan food.

■ Gladsteain, Neandross and Associates — studies in alternative transportation and energy.

■ Co-Opportunity — natural foods grocer.

Since the launch of the GBC program, several new businesses have signed on to begin the certification process. A certified green business can be identified by looking for the green business logo or by visiting www.smgbc.org.

DAILY PRESS

MARKET MATTERS

BY BRIAN HEPP

Following the significant increases in short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve over the past two years, and given the current downturn in the domestic housing market, there’s not much question whether the U.S. economy is slowing down. The big debate now, however, is whether the country will experience a “hard” landing — in other words, a recession — or come in with a “soft” landing by slowing and posting a modest growth rate.

To understand the origins of this debate, we need to take a look at recent history to help us see where we are and how we got here. Over the past five years, the economy has fluctuated between two extremes: First, the economy was weak from 2001 to 2003 with output declining or rising slowly.

From there, the economy rebounded to robust, above-average growth from 2004 through early 2006.

As the economy picked up steam in mid-2004, the Fed gradually raised interest rates to moderate growth and temper the potential for inflation. The 17 successive quarterpoint interest rate hikes helped drain excess liquidity from the economy, while allowing borrowers time to adjust to tighter credit conditions. Keep in mind, the full effects of Fed tightening are usually felt about a year and a half after it takes place, so the impact of the most recent cycle — ended in June 2006 — may not be fully realized until mid-2007.

In addition to the rate hikes, several other factors have emerged over the last year that have also helped slow economic growth and increase the likelihood of a “soft” landing.

First, energy prices dropped sharply during the second half of the year, enabling consumers to stretch their incomes a little further. In addition, the Fed’s interest rate hikes helped cool the overly inflated housing market. Once the weakness in the housing sector became pronounced, the Fed stopped raising interest rates, at least for the time being.

In the meantime, also lending credence to the “soft” landing scenario is the fact that corporate profits have continued to grow, giving companies sufficient funds to expand payrolls and increase capital spending. This will help sustain economic growth, albeit at a more modest and manageable pace.

It’s important to remember, however, is that geopolitical events are always a factor when looking at the prospects for the economy. With the current challenges facing our country — the conflict in Iraq, the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea — the probability of an adverse geopolitical event that could jolt the economy and bring about a hard landing has probably increased.

All things considered, absent a major geopolitical event, we expect a “soft” landing for the economy in the year ahead with economic growth moderating — not stalling. For more information about the outlook for the coming year, A.G. Edwards has recently published its annual Investment Guide, which includes the firm’s outlook in these and other areas — including fixed-income research, currency and debt analysis, equity and fixed-income portfolio strategies, and securities research. Copies of the report are available on the Web site, agedwards.com/fc/brian.hepp, or by calling the office.

Brian Hepp is a financial consultant for Santa Monica-based A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. Member SIPC. He can be reached at (310) 4530077 or at brian.hepp@agedwards.com.

Whitewash: Vail Resorts’ losses at $35.8M

By The Associated Press

BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Vail Resorts Inc., the operator of ski resorts in the Rocky Mountains and luxury hotels nationwide, said Monday its fiscal first-quarter loss widened due in part to lower lodging revenues and higher real estate expenses.

Vail, whose resorts include Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Vail, said it lost $35.8 million, or 93 cents per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 31 versus a loss of $34.3 million, or 93 cents per share, during the same period a year ago.

But the company said that excluding expenses for stockbased compensation, the net loss would have amounted to $34.6 million, or 89 cents per share, compared with a $33.2 million loss, or 90 cents per share, in the fiscal first quarter of 2006.

Wall Street was expecting earnings of $1.09 a share, according to a Thomson Financial poll of analysts.

“The first fiscal quarter is a seasonally low quarter and historically a loss quarter, as none of our mountain resorts are open for winter business,” Robert Katz, chief executive officer, said in a news release. “This year’s first quarter was no exception with our financial performance essentially meet-

ing our expectations.”

Overall net revenue rose 32.9 percent to $113.5 million from $85.4 million a year ago. Revenue from its mountain activities rose 14.6 percent to $46.2 million, while lodging revenue decreased dipped 3.4 percent to $36.3 million as the company sold one hotel and ended a management agreement at another facility that closed as part of a redevelopment plan.

Vail Resorts moved its headquarters from Avon to Broomfield, north of Denver, earlier this year, under the company’s new CEO. Vail shares were down 74 cents to $46.04 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Besides the Colorado ski areas, Vail Resorts also owns Heavenly in Nevada and California and Grand Teton Lodge Co. in Wyoming.

The company also holds a majority interest in Denverbased Rock Resorts International, which owns eleven luxury hotels in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, California, Florida, Vermont and Washington state.

Vail Resorts is the second-largest ski operator in North America, behind Canada’s Intrawest Corp.

SportsSurf Visit us online at smdp.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

19

GOLF

An up-and-down year ends with Woods getting top honor

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Tiger Woods won PGA Tour player of the year on Tuesday for the eighth time, and the numbers looked familiar. He won multiple majors for the fourth time, and more tournaments than anyone else.

But it was hardly a typical year.

Woods won his first tournament of the year, then finished his PGA Tour season with six consecutive victories. In between, he disappeared from golf for more than two months to mourn the death of his father.

“I knew I had to go through — like anyone — the grieving process, and I had never done anything like that before,” Woods said.

“The hardest thing for me to do was play golf. Usually, people go to work to get away from a loss like that. But that’s when I thought of my dad. He introduced me to the game of golf. He taught me a lot of life lessons on the golf course.

“When I came back and started working on my fundamentals ... I learned them from my dad.”

The award — also called the Jack Nicklaus Trophy — is decided by a vote of the players, although the PGA Tour does not disclose the results or even who finished second. The award began in 1990, and no one else has won it more than twice.

“That’s always an honor to get the respect of your peers,” Woods said. “And this year has been an interesting one to say the least, on the golf course as well as off.

Woods, who won eight times, also won the Arnold Palmer Award for leading the money list at $9.9 million, and he won the Byron Nelson Award for the lowest scoring average at 68.11. The tour’s scoring award only requires a minimum of 50 rounds, and Woods played 55.

Jim Furyk won the Vardon Trophy from the PGA of America with an average of 68.86. That award requires at least 60 rounds.

Trevor Immelman was voted rookie of the year after winning the Western Open and finishing seventh on the money list with more than $3.8 million, highest money ranking by any PGA Tour rookie.

Comeback player of the year went to Steve Stricker, who failed to get out of the second stage of Q-school last year. A threetime PGA Tour winner, Stricker had to rely on sponsor’s exemptions and played only four times the first four months of the season.

He was in contention at the U.S. Open, was strongly considered for the Ryder Cup team and finished 34th on the money list.

“This is pretty special,” Stricker said Tuesday. “This year meant a lot just to prove I could play competitively again.”

There were questions about Woods’ competitive drive after his father, Earl Woods, died May 3 of cancer. He took nine weeks off and returned at the U.S. Open, where he missed the cut for the first time in a major.

In his next tournament, he opened with a 72 and again was in danger of missing the cut.

But he rallied to finish second in Chicago, and never lost on the PGA Tour the rest of the year.

“I went back to the same things I was working on at the beginning of the year and they started clicking,” Woods said. “And I won a few tournaments.”

He won the British Open at Royal Liverpool to become the first player in 23 years to successfully defend golf ’s oldest championship. He won the Buick Open, then added his second major at the PGA Championship at Medinah, a victory that made him the first player in history to win multiple majors in consecutive years.

Woods won the Bridgestone Invitational in a playoff, rallied from a three-shot deficit against Vijay Singh to win the Deutsche Bank Championship with a 63, then overwhelmed the field outside London to win by eight shots at the American Express Championship.

That was the last PGA Tour event he played. Woods skipped Disney and the Tour Championship, saying he was worn out by an emotionally taxing year. He played twice in Asia and finished second both times, although he will carry a PGA Tour winning streak into 2007.

Woods said he doesn’t measure himself by trophies or awards, but a gauge only he can read.

“Am I a better golfer right now than I was at the beginning of the year? If the answer is ‘yes,’ then it’s a successful year,” he said.

“Because if I did that for the rest of my career ... it’s a great career.”

Woods is host of the Target World Challenge, an unofficial event with 16 players competing for $5.75 million at Sherwood Country Club. He is not sure when he will start his 2007 season, saying his mind is on this week and then going skiing with his wife.

The holidays and his birthday — he turns 31 on Dec. 30 — are a package, although he said they have been a blur the last couple of years as his father’s health deteriorated.

“I didn’t do anything for my birthday; I didn’t even know it was my birthday,” he said. “I was up three, four, five days in a row nonstop trying to be with Dad. I just hung around him as much as I possibly could.”s

FOOTBALL

Chargers bolt into postseason BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer

SAN DIEGO — Now, it’s all about Marty.

From the minute the San Diego Chargers clinched the AFC West title Sunday, it had to have been in the back of everyone’s minds.

While the Chargers are good enough to get to the Super Bowl behind LaDainian Tomlinson, Philip Rivers and Shawne Merriman, their coach, Marty Schottenheimer, is, to use a polite term, playoff chal-

lenged.

Schottenheimer has taken the one-anddone routine to the point where this joke has followed him from town to town: What do Marty Schottenheimer and Christmas bells have in common?

They’re both put away by early January.

Schottenheimer has never had a problem getting his teams to the playoffs. It’s what happens next that’s vexing. He’s 5-12 in the postseason with Cleveland, Kansas City and the Chargers.

SURF CONDITIONS

WATER TEMP: 61°

SWELL FORECAST ( 16-24 FT ) The NW is expected to back down, but size should still hover around head high to a foot or so overhead. The tide and winds should both be ideal for the early AM sessions; however, the offshore, northerly gradients should be strongest on Wednesday, so some of the wind prone regions should see some stiff northerlies around mid morning.

LONG RANGE SYNOPSIS NW THURSDAY

IN

NCAL, FRIDAY SOCAL...

TIDE FORECAST

FOR

TODAY

IN

SANTA MONICA

Horoscopes 20

A newspaper with issues

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

As you like it, Libra

JACQUELINE BIGAR’S STARS The stars show the kind of day you’ll have: ★★★★★ Dynamic ★★★★ Positive ★★★ Average ★★ So-So ★ Difficult

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

★★★★★ Creativity and sensitivity mark your friendships and talks. A friend is nothing less than inspiring. You will want to gain more information. Others want feedback; if given, they will come to a deeper understanding of what you need. Emphasize the positive. Tonight: Find your friends.

★★★★★ The Moon shines on you, making nearly anything possible. You might want to add more variety into your days. Use your imagination. A child or someone you consider creative adores your attention. Give more of that needed quality. Tonight: As you like.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

★★★ You might want to organize your day differently because of a discussion with a higher-up or someone key in your life. Be imaginative with a boss and/or career matter. Your imagination determines your limits right now. Consider your options. Tonight: Slow down.

★★★ Your intuition works overtime as you try to see answers. An assumption might be off. Events that follow will point to this error in judgment. Learn rather than pout. Get past a problem by being willing to take a leap of faith. Tonight: Happy playing it low-key.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

★★★★★ You seem like an endless resource to many. As a result, others frequently seek you out. Let your imagination and intellect merge. Great ideas come through exchanges with those in your immediate circle. Willingly acknowledge another person for his or her fine ideas. Tonight: Ever playful.

★★★★★ You are able to make a substantial difference no matter what you do or what you touch.

Consider your options more carefully. You might not realize how many doors are opening. Just choose the right one. Tonight: Where the crowds are.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

★★★★ You come from a different position or perspective. A partner finds you mentally stimulating and will often try to create an exchange of ideas or a brainstorming session. Be flattered.

Tonight: Happy heading toward home.

★★★★ You might want to step up to the plate, and you probably will. Be aware that not everything appears as it should. Be careful with your finances. Money could be streaming out of your wallet unnecessarily. Tonight: Think positively.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

★★★★ Your discussions carry you in a new direction, whether you are ready or not. Creativity stems from your willingness to do different things and to handle life in a more progressive manner. Your ability to visualize comes forward. Tonight: Visit with a friend or two.

★★★★★ You might want to see life from a more vibrant or upbeat perspective. You could be overwhelmed with what is coming down your path. Pull back and take the high road. Much around you is changing rapidly. Tonight: Take in new vistas. Share with someone at a distance.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

★★★★ You might want to approach a situation differently after a discussion that revolves around money and expectations. You work very hard; you also gain a lot. Consider your options when looking at ways to enhance your finances. Tonight: Pay bills, then decide.

★★★★ Work with others more directly. Hearsay or chain-of-command instructions do not flow.

Your hands-on approach works when dealing with key people in your life. A partner shares much more of what is important to him or her. Tonight: Say yes. Let others reveal their true intentions.

l

Born Today

Happy Birthday!

Mystic Nostradamus (1503)

Often this year you attempt to steer clear of trouble, but it seems to head in your direction! Your perspective and innate idealism might be partially to blame. You can choose to see the world through rose-colored glasses, but understand that there will be ramifications. Many surprising happenings reflect this lack of realism. People and groups carry unusual significance this year. Broaden your horizons. If you are single, you will enter a very social period in which life and enjoyment of people star. You could easily hook up during this period.

Actress Lee Remick (1935) Actress Jane Birkin (1946) Jacqueline Bigar is on the Internet at http://www.jacquelinebigar.com (c) 2006 by King Features Syndicate Inc.

style. Right here. Right now.

Feed your life express yourself

<07>tC

<06>xA

<06>xB

832 Santa Monica Boulevard “In Santa Monica...On Santa Monica” 888.203.8027 Our family of dealers includes: Lexus Santa Monica • Toyota Santa Monica • Scion Santa Monica • Hyundai Santa Monica • Volkswagen Santa Monica Toyota of Hollywood • Lincoln Mercury of Hollywood • Scion of Hollywood • Pacific Porsche • Pacific Volkswagen • Pacific Audi

People in the News Visit us online at smdp.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Early admission EDDIE MURPHY says he has one thing in common with his “Dreamgirls” character, the talented and troubled soul singer James “Thunder” Early.

“I could relate to him — the whole idea of him faking his way to the top, like that idea,” the 45-year-old actor said in a recent interview with AP Television News. “Because I think every artist feels, you know, in the back of your mind, it’s like — you’re kinda

CUT FROM SAME CLOTH There’s only one ARETHA FRANKLIN, but the Queen of Soul plans to hold auditions for singers to portray her.

A musical based on her 1999 autobiography, “Aretha: From These Roots,” will tour nationally, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday.

The production will tell Franklin’s story of growing up in Detroit in the church headed by her father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin; of having family friends such as Sam Cooke and Dinah Washington; of her personal struggles; and of her rise to international stardom.

Hits by Franklin, 64, include “Respect,” “Chain of Fools” and “Freeway of Love.” The Grammy winner is completing an album for release in February. AP

like — they’re believing this?”

He added: “You know, you kind of feel like, at any moment, they’re gonna pull the covers off, and be like, “He’s not an artist!"’

Murphy’s screen credits include “48 Hrs.,” the “Beverly Hills Cop” movies and the “Shrek” films, in which he voiced the character of Donkey. He was a cast member of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in the early 1980s.

Although he’s hit some career road bumps here and there — “The Adventures of Pluto Nash,” anyone? — Murphy doesn’t let that get to him.

“I’m the closest you can get to having a charmed existence in this town. ... I graduated high school at 17, and got on `Saturday Night Live’ when I’m 18, and I did ‘48 Hrs.’ when I was 20,” he said. “So I never had the whole, you know, going through auditions and all

‘Dreamgirls’ star feels like a fake

that and getting on drugs and losing it all and the tragedy. “(I’ve) been rolling since I was 18. I’ve been chilling.

So, every now and then you might have a movie that’s whack and don’t make some loot, but that ain’t the end of the world.”

Murphy, seen escorting film producer Tracey Edmonds to recent screenings of “Dreamgirls,” has said he’s not sure if he’s the father of ex-girlfriend

21

MOVIEGUIDE AERO THEATRE 1328 Montana Avenue (310) 395-4990

Melanie Brown’s unborn child. Brown, a former Spice Girl, has said there’s “absolutely no question that Eddie is the father.”

Murphy’s wife, Nicole, filed for divorce last year, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple were married in 1993 and have five children.

“Dreamgirls,” which also stars Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Hudson, opens in theaters Dec. 25.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Wednesday Stagecoach 7:30

Thursday Miss Potter 7:30

AMC LOEWS BROADWAY 4 1441 3rd Street (310) 458-6232 Babel (R) 3:30, 7:00, 10:10

The Departed (R) 2:55, 6:30, 9:45

For Your Consideration (PG-13)

Supermodel walks from assault rap NAOMI CAMPBELL will not be charged with assault because there is insufficient evidence, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service said Wednesday.

Campbell, 36, was detained and questioned by police in London in October following an alleged alterca-

tion with another woman.

The Prosecution Service said it had advised police there was no realistic prospect of a conviction, in part because the complainant had left Britain and would not return to testify.

A statement from the Outside Organization,

which represents Campbell, has called the incident “a misunderstanding.”

The British supermodel is due back in a Manhattan court Jan. 16 on charges that she threw a cell phone at her maid over a pair of missing jeans.

Campbell pleaded guilty in

Toronto in 2000 to an assault charge for beating assistant Georgina Galanis while making a film in Canada in 1998.

Under an agreement with the prosecution, Campbell expressed remorse and was released without punishment or a criminal record.

AP

3:10, 5:25, 8:00, 10:15

The Fountain (PG-13) 10:00

The Nativity Story (PG) 2:35, 5:00, 7:45

AMC 7 SANTA MONICA 1310 3rd Street (310) 289-4262 Apocalypto (R) 12:40, 2:40, 4:00, 6:00, 7:10, 9:05, 10:15

Blood Diamond (R) 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, 10:40

Deja Vu (PG-13) 1:50, 4:50, 7:50, 10:50

Barker is taking on a big responsibility

The Holiday (PG-13)

BOB BARKER will pledge $300,000 toward housing an elephant from the Los Angeles Zoo in an animal sanctuary.

The pledge would match donations in support of sending Ruby, a 45-yearold African elephant, to a sanctuary in San Andreas in Northern California, publicist Henri Bollinger said Tuesday.

Ruby is housed at the zoo, but animal rights advocates have raised con-

12:20, 3:00, 5:35, 7:45, 10:00

cerns about the zoo’s treatment of elephants, including a 48-year-old Asian pachyderm named Gita who died in June. Another elephant, Tara, died in 2004.

“Bob has been very concerned about the condition of elephants living in zoos, and particularly at the L.A. Zoo,” Bollinger said. “He wants to do whatever he can to change that situation and get elephants placed in sanctuaries.”

Zoo officials have main-

tained that they never mistreated the elephants. Zoo spokesman Jason Jacobs said officials weren’t aware of any offer from Barker and that Ruby’s “ultimate destination is not a financial decision.”

Barker, 83, a noted animal rights activist and the host of CBS’ “The Price Is Right,” pleaded with the City Council in February to close the zoo’s elephant exhibit, claiming the animals were miserable and

that some of them were ill.

Earlier this year, the City Council approved a $39 million, 3.5-acre exhibit to house Ruby and a 21-yearold Asian male elephant named Billy.

A zoo investigation found that Gita’s keepers didn’t begin emergency procedures for more than eight hours after the elephant was first observed sitting with her back legs tucked under her, a general sign of distress.

AP

12:30, 2:00, 3:30, 5:00, 6:30, 8:00, 9:30, 11:00

Unaccompanied Minors (PG)

LANDMARK NUWILSHIRE 1314 Wilshire Blvd (310) 281-8228 Bobby (R) 1:00, 4:05, 7:15, 9:55

Stranger Than Fiction (PG-13) 1:15, 4:15, 7:00, 10:00

LAEMMLE’S MONICA FOURPLEX 1332 2nd Street (310) 394-9741 Days of Glory (Indigenes) (R) 12:45, 3:45, 7:00, 9:55

The History Boys (R) 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:50

Little Children (R) 1:20, 4:20, 7:20, 10:15

The Queen (PG-13) 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 9:40

MANN'S CRITERION THEATRE 1313 3rd Street (310) 395-1599 Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (R) 12:00, 2:20, 4:50, 7:20, 9:40

Casino Royale (PG-13) 11:30am, 3:00, 6:30, 7:10, 9:50, 10:20

Happy Feet (PG) 11:10am, 1:40, 4:10, 7:00, 9:30

Happy Feet (PG) 11:40am, 2:10, 4:40

National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (R) 2:40, 7:30

Screamers (R) 12:10, 2:30, 5:10, 7:40, 10:00

Turistas (R) 12:20, 5:00, 10:10

More information email news@smdp.com

Comics & Stuff 22

A newspaper with issues

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Girls and Sports

Janric Classic Soduku

By Justin Borus and Andrew Feinstein

Fill in the blank cells using numbers 1 to 9. Each number can appear only once in each row, column, and 3x3 block. Use logic and process of elimination to solve the puzzle. The difficulty level ranges from Bronze (easiest) to Silver to Gold (hardest).

Difficulty

BRONZE

The Meaning of Lila

By John Forgetta & L.A. Rose

Š 2006 Janric Enterprises Dist. by Creators Syndicate Inc.

GETTING STARTED There are many strategies to solving Sudoku. One way to begin is to examine each 3x3 grid and figure out which numbers are missing. Then, based on the other numbers in the row and column of each blank cell, find which of the missing numbers will work. Eliminating numbers will eventually lead you to the answer.

The Other Coast

By Adrian Raeside

SOLUTIONS TO LAST PUZZLE

Garfield

Your ad could run here!

Your ad could run here!

Call us today at (310) 458-7737

Call us today at (310) 458-7737

Dog eat Doug

By Jim Davis

By Brian Anderson

Comics & Stuff Visit us online at smdp.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

23

SELL YOUR

CAR FAST!

Advertise your used car for sale in the only LOCAL DAILY newspaper in town.

LY

45

FOR ON

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M SA

D! A E PL

1964 Pontiac Catalina New Transmission, new paint job. 150K original miles. Immaculate condition inside. Kept in garage for many years.

Must see!

Natural Selection

$3,000

By Russ Wallace

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■ 20 word description.

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Advertiser must call within 5 days of ad expiration to renew. If renewal is placed after 5 days of ad expiration, advertiser must pay full price.

Photographs must be submitted digitally in JPG or TIFF format. Email photographs to anniek@smdp.com. Photographs only appear on print edition. 20 word description maximum; additional words 50 cents. Call for more details. Private parties only. Terms subject to change without notice.

Speed Bump

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

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CLASSIFICATIONS: Announcements Creative Employment For Sale

Furniture Pets Boats Jewelry Wanted Travel

Classes

For Rent

DIRECTV SATELLITE Television, FREE Equipment, FREE 4 Room Installation, FREE HD or DVR Receiver Upgrade w/Rebate. Packages from $29.99/mo.

Call 1-800-380-8939.

VITAMIN STORE High volume vitamin shop seeking sales person/assistant manager.

Good pay, Commission and benefits.

Experience only need apply. Fax resume to (310)396-4417 e-mail geosalem@yahoo.com or mail to p.o. box 5432 Santa Monica 90409.

Art Classes taught by established artist. Paint Sculpt and draw in a garden setting.

Classes start February 1st, 2007.

Your artwork and bio placed on www.campbellart.com free with sign up. Call 310-804-0335 for schedule and pricing.

MAR VISTA/Culver City Adj. $1725 2 Bdrms, 2 Baths. "Twnhs-Apt." Stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, 2-Car garage.

No pets, 12048 Culver Blvd #202. Open Daily for Viewing 9am-7pm, Additional info in unit. Mgr. #101

Help Wanted

Travel

HELP WANTED Earn Extra Income assembling CD cases from Home. Working with Top US companies. Start Immediately. No experience necessary.

1-800-405-7619 Ext 104 www.easywork-greatpay.com

ARTIST DREAM IN FRANCE Silk Painting in Burgundy, 07/07. Learn unique art form in enchanting village with select group.

Sarah Pierce 310-899-1189 www.sarahsilk.com

Employment BOOKKEEPER SANTA Monica Firm looking for full-time bookkeeper trained in Excel, Access, Word, and Quickbooks. Must have good grammar and spelling skills, and ability to handle phone communications regarding company business. Willingness to start training and work immediately. Salary to be discussed upon interview. Contact: Anthony (310)394-9800 CAREGIVERS, WE want you to join our winning team at Good Company.

Live-in/Live-out, Full/Part- time.

Competitive compensation.

Two years minimum experience, verifiable references and valid SS#.

Call today for your appointment: (323)932-8700.

CASHIER FOR busy retail business in Culver City with some weekend work. $12.50/hr.

Fax resume to (310)204-4309 CASHIER WANTED, full-time, benefits, SM. Fax resume to 310.450.6401. andPharmacy compounding tech., part-time, experience preferred. Fax resume to 310.450.6401.

College radio music (310)998-8305 xt.85

promoter

COUNTER HELP needed. Cafe near 3rd St. Promenade on Broadway. Must be experienced. Immediate openings, day and evening shifts. Apply afternoons in person.

215 Broadway, SM. (310) 396-9898.

Customer Service/Full Time- starting up to $12.00 per hour. 22 year old telephone services company in WLA with free secure parking. Experience preferred but will train. Good language skills and reliability a must.

Call 310-281-3079 for recorded details.

DENTAL ASSISTANT for Brentwood/ Wilshire office. (310)473-2099 RADIO INTERVIEW campaign sales person p/t flexible SM (310)998-8305 * 84

SECRET SHOPPERS NEEDED For Store Evaluations. Get Paid to Shop. Local Stores, Restaurants & Theaters. Training Provided, Flexible Hours, Email Required. 1-800-585-9024 ext. 6262

Resorts/Timeshares

For Sale

TIMESHARE *RESALES* SAVE 60-80% OFF RETAIL!! BEST RESORTS & SEASONS. Call for FREE TIMESHARE MAGAZINE! Open 7 days a week!

8 0 0 - 6 3 9 - 5 3 1 9 www.holidaygroup.com/flier

DIRECTV FREE 4 Room System! NO Credit Card Required! 250+ Channels!

Starts$39.99! FREE DVR or HD Receiver! Also, Dish Network $19.99! FREE Movie Channels!

1-800-574-2260

501 N. Venice. Unit 12, single, stove, fridge, carpet, blinds, utilities included, laundry, parking, no pets. $975/mo.

(310)574-6767 www.jkwproperties.com

FREE DIRECTV 4 Room System! NO Credit Card Required! 250+ Channels!

Starts$39.99! FREE DVR or HD Receiver! Also, Dish Network $19.99! FREE Movie Channels!

1-800-490-1814 LAZY BOY recliner burgundy leather, mint condition, original $850, $200 O.B.O. (310)395-8384 RASCAL MEDICAL SCOOTER, seat swivels and rises, like new. $2300 O.B.O. (310)315-9600 SPA/HOT TUB 2006 Model. Neck Jets.

Therapy seat. Warranty. Never used.

Can deliver. Worth $5950, sell for $1950 (310) 479-3054

Auto Donations DONATE A Car Today To Help Children And Their Families Suffering From Cancer. Free Towing. Tax Deductible. Children's Cancer Fund of America, Inc. www.ccfoa.org 1-800-469-8593 DONATE YOUR car to the Original 1-800-Charity Cars! FULL RETAIL VALUE DEDUCTION if we provide your vehicle to a struggling family. Call 1-800-CHARITY (1-800-242-7489) www.800CharityCars.ORG

RADIUM, INC., located in Santa Monica, CA is seeking a qualified Flame/Inferno Compositor & Digital Matte Painter for broadcast, film, television, design, and compositing projects. Bachelor's degree required. Please send resumes to openvfxposition@gmail.com or (310)656-0146 (fax).

DONATE YOUR CAR, BOAT OR RV TO HELP CHILDREN FIGHTING DIABETES. Tax deductible, free towing, need not run. Please call Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation #1-800-578-0408!

SM ROOM and board + $200/mo in exchange for part-time housekeeping/ light caregiving and cooking. Valid dl necessity, errands. 50-65. dog. Ruth (310)392-6301

CAT SITTER I will watch your cat, water your plants, and take in your mail while you are away. Call Kirsten. References available (310)729-7258

Pets

For Rent

BEAUTIFUL

MONTANA GARDENS

Room and Board 401 Montana Avenue

Real Estate Real Estate Loans Storage Space Vehicles for Sale Massage Services

PALMS/BVRLYWD-ADJ.$725. Bachelor, Stove, refrigerator, utilities paid, NO PETS, 2009 Preuss Rd., #1. Los Angeles, 90034. Open daily for viewing. Additional info in unit.

SANTA MONICA $1175/mo 1 bdrm/1Bath, quiet, large unit, walk-in-closet, cozy kitchen, community courtyard, (310)395-RENT www.westsiderentals.com SANTA MONICA $1213/mo 1brm/1bathCharming/private, patio, mini blinds, a short walk to cafes. (310)395-RENT www.westsiderentals.com SANTA MONICA $1500/mo 2bdrms/1bath, Carpet Floors, Garage parking, laundry on site, AVAILABLE NOW!!!, (310)395-RENT www.westsiderentals.com SANTA MONICA $1050/mo bachelor/1bath, North of Montana, Hardwood Floors, quiet neighborhood, refrigerator, balcony. (310)395-RENT. www.westsiderentals.com SANTA MONICA $1275/mo 2bdrms/1bath, hardwood floors, dishwasher, yard, beautiful hardwood cabinets in kitchen (310)395-RENT www.westsiderentals.com

For Rent SENIORS AFFORDABLE HOUSING (Age 62+) Single apartment in West Hollywood for $431/month—OR—4 blks to beach in Santa Monica, 2 BD+2BA, shared by 2 seniors—$565/month each.

323-650-7988 M-F 9-5

Furnished Apts WESTCHESTER: CONDO type apts. Gated estate 1/2 block/golf course. Fully furn.

2br Peaceful/park like yards. Gourmet kitchen. Sliding glass balcony/private patio, hardwood floors, laundry rooms included all but clothes and toothbrush. $1695/unf apt OR fully furnished $1995-$2250/mo. N/pets. Utilities and DSL paid. Kitchen utensils, setting for four, bedding. 6686 W. 86th Place.

Please call 310-410-2305 www.westchestergardenapts.com

Apartment Wanted Fantastic 26 year old female looking for a guesthouse/ 1 bedroom/ studio with lots of light and great neighbors.

Great references. Positive Influence.

(805)455-1115.

IMMEDIATE OPENINGS

SANTA MONICA $1400/mo 2 bdrms/1bath, hardwood floors, yard, ceramic tile floors in kitchen/bath ( 3 1 0 ) 3 9 5 - R E N T www.westsiderentals.com

SENIORS—COOPERATIVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING

SANTA MONICA $1650/mo 2 bdrms/2baths, Carpet Floors, pool, spacious, bright unit, gated entry/parking ( 3 1 0 ) 3 9 5 - R E N T www.westsiderentals.com

323-650-7988 M-F 9-5

$2,500/MO

(310) 245-9436 FREE RENTAL Lists & No Fee Rentals. Sullivan-Dituri Company.

2111 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90403.

HOWARD MANAGEMENT GROUP (310) 869-7901 2bdrm/1bath $2200/mo 2103 Oak Unit C Refurbished.

PLEASE Visit our website for complete listings at: www.howardmanagement.com MAR VISTA 11924 Courtleigh Dr. unit 9, stove, fridge, carpets, blinds utilities included, parking, no pets,$995/mo (310)737-7933 www.jkwproperties.com MAR VISTA 12450 Culver Blvd. Unit 203 1bdrm/1bath, gated parking, intercom entry, stove, fridge, utilities included, laundry, parking, no pets. $1075/mo (888)414-7778 www.jkwproperties.com WLA: 2BDRM/1BATH. $1500/mo. Great location, new carpet, tile, clean, quiet, parking, patio. Brenda (310) 991-2694.

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SANTA MONICA $2300/mo 3bdrms/2baths, Will consider pet with deposit, Carpet/Hardwood Floors, Carport parking, (310)395-RENT. www.westsiderentals.com SANTA MONICA $2395/mo 3bdrms/1.75baths. No pets, New Carpets, Parking, laundry-on-site, stove, dishwasher, fireplace (310)395-RENT www.westsiderentals.com SANTA MONICA $795/mo Studio/1bath, New Carpets, quiet neighborhood, refrigerator, stove, electric heater ( 3 1 0 ) 3 9 5 - R E N T www.westsiderentals.com

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Real Estate Your ad could run here!

Call us today at (310) 458-7737 3-bed, 3-bath unit. Includes vacation exchange worldwide. 877-203-2327.

HOME SELLERS Free home evaluation. Free compterized list of area home sales and current listings.

Free recorded message.

1-800-969-8257 ID #1041

www.FreeListingPrice.com

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Ideal Tenant. Filmmaker/writer female seeks West Side guest house. I am clean, quiet, responsible, and working.

Call if you have a clean place in a quiet neighborhood!

Great references.

(310)717-6086

SANTA MONICA $1325.00 1 Bdrm, 1 Bath, Stove, Refrigerator, Parking, No Pets, 2535 Kansas Ave., #203 Open Daily for Viewing 9am-7pm, Additional info in unit. Mgr. #101

There is no more convincing medium than a DAILY local newspaper.

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Vacation Rentals Apartments/Condos Rent Houses for Rent Roomates Commerical Lease

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REMEMBER ME RESCUE needs Foster homes for our dogs. We can’t do it all by ourselves!

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Miscellaneous

Announcements

25

Roommates LUXURY SPACIOUS Apt, 2bd/2bath, private garage, very sunny, to share with female only. $950/mo 310-562-4726.

(Age 55+) Live in a great location— unit in Beverly/Fairfax for $430/month—includes utilities!

SM $900 mo. Share 2bdrm/1 bathroom (Large Bright Front Room) House with yard, (310) 576-4992

Commercial Lease SANTA MONICA 2941 Main Street. Small single room offices $825-$890/month.

Parking available. PAR Commercial (310)395-2663

YOUR AD COULD RUN HERE!

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SANTA MONICA, 1452 2nd street. Very charming building. 2 offices. $700/mo, $1350/mo. Includes utilities and cleaning. (310)614-6462.

SUNSET PARK 2 professional, commercial spaces, creative environment, ground floor, approx. 1050 sq. ft. Second floor, approx 850 sq ft.

(310)450-9840

Real Estate COLORADO TIMESHARE for sale. Five weeks per year at Gold Point (www.goldpoint.com) for only $39,900. Large

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING CONDITIONS: REGULAR RATE: $5.50 a day. Ads over 15 words add 20¢ per word per day. Ad must run a minimum of twelve consecutive days. PREMIUMS: First two words caps no charge. Bold words, italics, centered lines, etc. cost extra.

Please call for rates. TYPOS: Check your ad the first day of publication. Sorry, we do not issue credit after an ad has run more than once.

DEADLINES: 3:00 p.m. prior the day of publication except for Monday’s paper when the deadline is Friday at 2:30 p.m. PAYMENT: All private party ads must be pre-paid. We accept checks, credit cards, and of course cash. CORRESPONDENCE: To place your ad call our offices 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, (310) 458-7737; send a check or money order with ad copy to The Santa Monica Daily Press, P.O. Box 1380, Santa Monica, CA 90406 or stop in at our office located at 1427 Third Street Promenade, Ste. 202. OTHER RATES: For information about the professional services directory or classified display ads, please call our office at (310) 458-7737.

HOURS MONDAY - FRIDAY 9:00am - 5:00pm

LOCATION 1427 Third Street Promenade, Suite 202, Santa Monica, CA 90405

26

A newspaper with issues

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

Automotive Prepay your ad today!

SELL YOUR PRE-OWNED VEHICLE. The only directory for used vehicles in and around Santa Monica.

(310)

458-7737

Real Estate

Business Opps

PAC

WEST MORTGAGE 2212 Lincoln Blvd in Santa Monica

1-888-FOR-LOAN

310 392-9223 VERY AGGRESSIVE

RATES TIME FOR A 30 YEAR FIXED? RATES AS LOW AS 6% 30 YEAR FIXED 10 YEAR/1 ARM 7 YEAR/1 ARM 5 YEAR/1 ARM 3 YEAR/1 ARM 1 YEAR/1 ARM 6 MO./6 MO. ARM 1 MO./1 MO. ARM

6 6% 5.75% 5.75%** 5.5%** 5.25% 5% 1%* %

*Rates subject to change * As of November 12, 2006 ** Denotes an interest only loan

NEW CONFORMING

LOAN AMOUNTS 1 Unit 2 Units 3 Units 3 Units 4 Units

$417,000 $533,850 $645,300 $645,300 $801,950

CALL TODAY FOR SPECIAL MONTHLY RATES! There is no more convincing medium than a DAILY local newspaper.

Vehicles for sale

Vehicles for sale

Vehicles for sale

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’03 Highlander $14,995 Auto, A/C, P/W, Cruise, C/D (30075121) Toyota Santa Monica (800) 579-6047

’02 Infiniti QX4 Sport Utility 4D V6 3.5 Liter, Automatic, Leather Stock #: P1458 $17,994 Infiniti Santa Monica (866) 507-7253

’03 Audi TT Convertible Silver, 6 speed manual, 4-Cyl., 1.8L HO Turbo Stock #: P1466 $23,994 Infiniti Santa Monica (866) 507-7253

ALL CASH! Are you making $1,710 per week? Vending routes with prime locations available now! Under $10K investment required. No money-back guarantee included. Call Toll Free (24/7) 800-961-6149

‘05 Tundra Dbl Cab $21,788 Off Road Pkg, Beautiful, Loaded, Best Buy, (55493840) Toyota Santa Monica (800) 579-6047

’05 Hummer H2 White, automatic, V8 6.0L (I6054A) $38,993 Infiniti Santa Monica (866) 507-7253

DATA ENTRY PROCESSORS NEEDED! Earn $3,500-$5,000 Weekly Working from Home! Guaranteed Paychecks! No Experience Necessary! Positions Available Today! Register Online Now! www.DataEntryMoney.com HOME REFUND JOBS! Earn $3,500-$5,000 Weekly Processing Company Refunds Online! Guaranteed Paychecks! No Experience Needed! Positions Available Today! Register Online Now! www.PaidRefundJobs.com MOVIE EXTRAS Make up to $250/day All looks and ages 1-800-714-7501

’00 Ford Ranger $4,995 Air Conditioning, CD, Alloys, & More!

(Vin YPA17329) Toyota Santa Monica (800) 579-6047

’04 Dodge Dakota Maroon, automatic, V6 3.7L (P1480) $12,494 Infiniti Santa Monica (866) 507-7253

WANT TO own, start, or buy a restaurant, bar or club? iwanttostartarestaurant.com iwanttostartabar.com iwanttostartaclub.com ’02 MR2 Spyder Conv $13,788 Blk/Blk, chrome wheels, very low miles (20042374) Toyota Santa Monica (800) 579-6047

’03 G35 Sport Coupe Pewter, 6 speed, V6 3.5 Liter, 6 disc remote changer (P1488) $28,991 Infiniti Santa Monica (866) 507-7253

’03 Lexus RX 300 Silver, V6 3.0L, Low Miles!

(I6069A) $25,993 Infiniti Santa Monica (866) 507-7253

YOUR AD COULD RUN HERE! ‘04 Avalon XLS . . . .$19,995 Leather, Moonroof, Immaculate!

(4U373719) Toyota Santa Monica (800) 579-6047

STOP FORECLOSURE guaranteed. This is not bankruptcy. We do not buy houses.

1-800-771-4453 ext.

3550. www.house911.com

Massage

’02 Sienna XLE $16,995 VIDEOPLAYER, Moonroof, Lthr, AMAZING DEAL (2U475335) Toyota Santa Monica (800) 579-6047

’04 Quad Hemi…. $16,995 Gorgeous, Black, Alloys, CD, Auto, Chrome Wheels, Must See Vin: 4J102632 Toyota Santa Monica (800) 579-6047

’04 Toyota Camry Gray, automatic, V6 3.3 L (I5937A) $17,992 Infiniti Santa Monica (866) 507-7253

1980-1995 Running or Not Any Questions Please Call

(310) 995-5898

’03 Prius $16,995 Auto, A/C, CD, Alloys, Full Power Package (Vin 30072445) Toyota Santa Monica (800) 579-6047

’00 Jetta . . . $8,995 Leather, Moonroof, CD, Alloys Vin: YM154848 Toyota Santa Monica (800) 579-6047

WE BUY HOUSES, APTS, & LAND! ALL CASH, AS-IS, FAST CLOSE David (310) 308-7887

’05 Scion XB …. $13,900 Red, Low 38K Miles!

One Owner!!

(Vin A390395) Hyundai Santa Monica (866) 309-6705

’05 G35 Sedan Pewter, automatic, V6 3.5 Liter, Stock #: I6168A $30,991 Infiniti Santa Monica (866) 507-7253

NO DOWN PAYMENT? PROBLEM CREDIT? If you're motivated and follow our proven, no-nonsense program, we'll get you into a NEW HOME. Call 1-866-255-5267 www.AmericanHomePartners.com

Real Estate Wanted

’02 Escape 2WD $9,900 Leather, CD, and MORE Hyundai Santa Monica (866) 309-6705

’06 Sonata GLS MAKE OFFER! (065025) Hyundai Santa Monica (866) 309-6705

Vehicles for sale

$$ MERCEDES BENZ/BMWS $$

’03 Sonata V6 White . . . $11,500 Low miles, pristine (3A744443) Hyundai Santa Monica (866) 309-6705

(310) 458-7737

EXQUISITE, INTUITIVE, strong and tender relaxing body work by mature Europen.

Very Professional, Sonja (310) 397-0433.

$$ CASH 4 $$

05 Hyundai Tucson LX 4 $16,990 Leather, CD, Pristine (5U051031) Hyundai Santa Monica (866) 309-6705

CALL US TODAY AT

MORE CASH for settlements. Waiting for payments OVER TIME on a settled lawsuit? Get more Cash. Deal direct with the leaders. NovationCap.com 1-800-586-8301

Real Estate Loans

’04 Nissan Sentra $11,900 CD, 42K Miles, Very Clean Will Not Last (4L915794) Hyundai Santa Monica (866) 309-6705

A CASH COW!! 90 Vending Machine units/30 locations. Entire Business $10,970.

Hurry! 1-800-836-3464.

(Cal-SCAN)

$$$ ACCESS LAWSUIT CASH NOW!!! As seen on TV. Injury Lawsuit Dragging?

Need $500-$500,000++ within 48/hours? Low rates. APPLY NOW BY PHONE! 1-866-386-3692 www.injuryadvances.com

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Financial

ROB SCHULTZ

$45 for two weeks. $20 every two weeks after.

1992 BMW 325i Auto, 4dr, Blk. $4995 Lic# 3GGC432 Claude Short Auto Sales Dealer (310) 395-3712

’05 Accord EX Hybrid $24,900 6Cyl, Leather, Low Low Miles (5C001873) Toyota Santa Monica (800) 579-6047

’05 Mustang Conv’t $16,995 WOW, Unbelievable Deal, Auto, Alloys, CD (5521441) Toyota Santa Monica (800) 579-6047

’04 Nissan 350Z Roadster Convertible Silver, automatic, V6 3.5L (P1471A) $28,991 Infiniti Santa Monica (866) 507-7253

HOURS MONDAY - FRIDAY 9:00am - 5:00pm

’03 i35 Sedan Charcoal, automatic, V6 3.5L, Bose audio system (P1483) $19,992 Infiniti Santa Monica (866) 507-7253

YOUR AD COULD RUN HERE! (310) 458-7737

LOCATION 1427 Third Street Promenade, Suite 202, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Visit us online at smdp.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

YOUR AD COULD RUN TOMORROW!* Some restrictions may apply.

ServiceDirectory

(310) Prepay your ad today!

’05 C230 Sport Sedan 1 Owner, Silver/Gray, Leather, Moonroof, 24K Miles. Like new!

(SF727053) Hyundai Santa Monica (866) 309-6705

Vehicles for sale

’02 Santa Fe 4 x 4 $13,900 Low Miles, Pristine Condition (2U175332) Hyundai Santa Monica (866) 309-6705

All classified liner ads are placed on our website for FREE! Check out www.smdp.com for more info.

Hyrbids

’07 Lexus RX 400h …. $45,999 Hybrid (RXH71067) Lexus Santa Monica Pre-Owned (800) 406-7782

Services

Services

Services

Tree Removal

Painting/Tiling

Roofing

Tree Removal Tree Trimming

Stump Grinding Landscaping Lic. And Insured

15 Years Experience

CALL

(310) 359-2859 Plumbing ’04 Santa Fe 2 to Choose-Black or Silver Low miles, still has new car warranty.

(U786948, U648625) Hyundai Santa Monica (866) 309-6705

2001 Ford Escort SE 4 DR Sedan, full power, 53k miles, 26/35 MPG, Auto, AC $5000.

310.396.9621 or 310.392.9229

Trucks/Vans

YOUR AD COULD RUN HERE! (310) 458-7737

’07 Lexus RX 400h …. $47,999 Hybrid (RXH71071) Lexus Santa Monica Pre-Owned (800) 406-7782

YOUR AD COULD RUN HERE! CALL US TODAY AT

(310) 458-7737

458-7737

*Please call our Classified Sales Manager to reserve your ad space. Specific ad placement not gauranteed on classified ads. Ad must meet deadline requirements.

Promote your business in the only DAILY local newspaper in town.

Vehicles for sale

O’keeffee Plumbing Industrial, Commercial, Residential Repipes, New and Old Constructions, Remodels Earthquake shut-off valves, Recirculating Pumps, Sump pumps, Sewage ejectors All Water and gas related works, all service and repair work

METICULOUS PAINTING

& DRYWALL Interior & Exterior • Free Estimates

Call Joe: 447-8957 meticulouspainting.com

LIC: 0002088305-0001-4

Residential & Commercial Int. & Ext. Texture & Drywall Wood works & Repair work Kitchen cabinet Faux finish Replace cabinet & Counter top Stucco work

Lic.# 825896 310.284.8333

Pool and Spa

Onlyy onee calll away Austin O’keeffe (310)600-5507

YOUR AD

COULD RUN HERE!

(310) 458-7737

SELL YOUR

CAR FAST!

Advertise your used car for sale in the only LOCAL DAILY newspaper in town.

1992 Dodge 350 Cargo Van White, A/C $2,995 Claude Short Auto Sales Dealer (310) 395-3712

LY FOR ON

45

$

’00 Grand Cherokee Ltd. $13,900 Red/Tan, 4WD, Moonroof, Pristine!

(VC223308) Hyundai Santa Monica (866) 309-6705

2001 DODGE 15 PASSENGER VAN Dual air, many extras VIN 543782 $7,995 Claude Short Auto Sales Dealer (310) 395-3712

M SA

Hyrbids

Life is short — Why make it shorter

John J. McGrail, C.Ht.

LAW OFFICES OF

HANDYMAN

EDWARD J. SINGER

All aspects of construction from small repairs to complete remodels

Practicing in

REFERRALS AVAILABLE

Call Tony

(310) 449-5555 (310) 447-3333

CARPENTRY, ELEC., PAINT, ETC...

TERMITE AND DRY ROT REPAIR ROOF REPAIR AND WATER DAMAGE

$3,000

STILL L SMOKING?

Attorney Services

—ALL AROUND—

Full Service Handymen

New Transmission, new paint job. 150K original miles. Immaculate condition inside. Kept in garage for many years.

Must see!

Therapy

www.hypnotherapylosangeles.com

WESTSIDE GUYS

1964 Pontiac Catalina

(310) 458-7737

(310)) 235-2883

Handyman

Run it until it sells!*

D! A E PL

YOUR AD COULD RUN HERE!

Certified Hypnotherapist

St. Lic 855859

’05 Santa Fe 3.5L 2 to Choose!

2WD, CD, Moon (960986, 935352) Hyundai Santa Monica (866) 309-6705

27

CALEB 25-35/HR (310) 409-3244

A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION

Real Estate

WORKERS COMPENSATION AND

IMMIGRATION Call us today

(310) 664-9000 Workers’ Compensation dial ext. 22 For Immigration dial ext. 40 Making a false or fraudulent workers’ compensation claim is a felony subject to up to 5 years in prison or a fine up to $50,000 or double the value of the fraud, whichever is greater, or by both imprisonment and fine.

(310) 458-7737 Ad shown actual size

Package includes: ’02 Honda Accord EX Cpe $16,900 Silver, 55K Miles, Pristine (2A017045) Hyundai Santa Monica (866) 309-6705

‘06 Lexus RX 400 … $40,995 Crystal White / Ivory, 3.3L 6 CYL, hybrid, low mileage, automatic (RXH296U) Lexus Santa Monica Pre-Owned (800) 406-7782

■ Ad runs until your car sells. Period.* ■ Large format photograph.

■ 20 word description.

■ FREE online placement!

Call us today at

(310) 458-7737 Take advantage of this great offer.

’00 Honda Accord EX Sedan Silver/Gray, Leather (SF227052) Hyundai Santa Monica (866) 309-6705

’07 Lexus GS 450h Hybrid! Must see!

(GS71028) Lexus Santa Monica Pre-Owned (800) 406-7782

*Terms and conditions. Ad will run for thirty (30) consecutive days. After 30 days, ad will expire and advertiser must call to schedule a free renewal. Ads are renewed for an additional 2 weeks.

Advertiser must call within 5 days of ad expiration to renew. If renewal is placed after 5 days of ad expiration, advertiser must pay full price.

Photographs must be submitted digitally in JPG or TIFF format. Email photographs to anniek@smdp.com. Photographs only appear on print edition. 20 word description maximum; additional words 50 cents. Call for more details. Private parties only. Terms subject to change without notice.

HOURS MONDAY - FRIDAY 9:00am - 5:00pm

LOCATION 1427 Third Street Promenade, Suite 202, Santa Monica, CA 90405

28

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

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