WHAT’S UP WESTSIDE ..................PAGE 2 MY WRITE ........................................PAGE 4 EARTH TALK ....................................PAGE 5 KNOW BEFORE YOU GO ................PAGE 9 MYSTERY PHOTO ............................PAGE 11
MONDAY
12.14.15 Volume 15 Issue 22
@smdailypress
Santa Monica Daily Press
smdp.com
Lieberman keeps SMMUSD board presidency Ralph Mechur replaces Jose Escarce as vice president BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
The Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education played musical chairs Thursday night, although there was no music and there were no chairs removed. At its annual organization meeting, the local school district’s board re-elected Laurie Lieberman as president and chose Ralph
Mechur to serve as vice president. Their titles take effect immediately and last until next December. Lieberman, a lawyer who previously worked in the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office, has served on the school board for about five years. She’ll continue presiding over a governing body that is currently grappling with a variety of district issues, including chemical testing
and cleanup, bond-backed improvements, achievement gaps, centralized fundraising and potential separation. Lieberman, whose two children are SMMUSD alumni, has been involved in the district since 1996. She co-chaired the district’s campaign for Measure ES, a $385-million bond for facility and technology upgrades that voters passed in 2012.
Lieberman’s term expires in 2018. Mechur, meanwhile, will replace Jose Escarce as vice president. He won the position over Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein, the only other board member nominated for the position. Mechur was appointed to the board in January after a long meeting during which he and eight other candidates were vying for the
seat vacated by Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), who was elected to the state senate last year. At the time, four of the six deliberating board members Escarce, Tahvildaran-Jesswein, Maria Leon-Vazquez and Oscar de la Torre - supported Mechur. Lieberman voted for real estate finance lawyer Tom Larmore. SEE BOARD PAGE 7
Olympic student preparing for Speedo Sectionals Gomez ‘on the cusp’ of junior national level, coach says BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
NATIVITY
Matthew Hall editor@smdp.com
The 63rd anniversary display of the Santa Monica Nativity Scenes is now open. The 13 life-size scenes depicting events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ are located at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, 1343 Ocean Park Blvd., and will remain through Epiphany, Jan. 6, 2016. The display starts along Maple Street one block north of Ocean Park Boulevard west of 14th Street and ends along 14th Street.To drive past - From Ocean Park Boulevard, turn north on Euclid (13th), then right on Maple and continue along Maple to the Scenes; then at the stop sign, turn right cautiously onto 14th Street. To park and walk past - Parking is available in the church parking lot; enter off 14th Street.
Gary Limjap Experience counts! garylimjap@gmail.com www.garylimjap.com
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Cathy Gomez knows exactly what to do when she’s feeling anxious or when things in her daily life aren’t going well. She jumps into the pool. “It’s very therapeutic,” she said. “Swimming really relaxes me. I forget about anything bad that happened in my day. It lets me forget about everything. It’s really helped me a lot.” But the pool isn’t just a Zen zone for Gomez, a senior at Olympic High School. It’s also a place where she excels as a member of the Team Santa Monica swimming club. Gomez is scheduled to attend the Speedo Sectionals later this month at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, where she will race against talented athletes from throughout the region. It’s a chance for Gomez to test her skills against elite com-
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