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WEDNESDAY
12.16.15 Volume 15 Issue 24
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Newborn safe after surrender at hospital BY MATTHEW HALL Daily Press Editor
A newborn child was safely surrendered in Santa Monica last week thanks to the County’s Safe Surrender Program. The baby boy was surrendered at a local hospital on Dec. 8. The same day, a baby boy was also surrendered at a hospital in Whittier. The double drop-off was unusual and officials said they couldn’t remember another instance of two children surrendered on the same day. Under the program, anyone with legal custody of a child can drop off the baby at a hospital or fire station within 72 hours of birth. Whoever surrenders the child is asked to fill out a voluntary and anonymous medical history to help provide medical care but the form is not required. The adult is given an I.D. bracelet that matches one fastened to the baby’s ankle to allow the adult to reclaim the baby within 14 days of surrender
should they change their mind. Surrendered children are given a medical exam, placed in a safe home and are eligible for adoption. The program is designed to protect the lives of babies born to parents who are unable to care for them. The Dec. 8 cases are the 17th and 18th Safe Surrenders in Los Angeles County in 2015, and the 141st and 142nd since the program began 14 years ago. Over the program’s 14year history, 77 babies have been abandoned and of those only 19 have survived. An abandoned baby recently made headlines after police officers found the child buried alive in Compton. The Compton child survived and its mother was charged with attempted murder and child abuse. The program was initiated by Supervisor Knabe and approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors in 2001. SEE BABY PAGE 9
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Santa Monica’s voting system challenged Activists calling for district-based city elections BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
Activists threatening legal action are urging the City of Santa Monica to discard its current at-large voting system in favor of districtbased elections. Pico neighborhood organizer Oscar de la Torre and his wife, Maria Loya, led a small rally Tuesday morning on the steps of City Hall in an effort to change how Santa Monica residents are represented in city government. The gathering was held after attorney Kevin Shenkman sent an email to all seven City Council members and City Manager Rick Cole alleging that the city’s current election system violates the California Voting Rights Act. Shenkman’s email requests a response from the City by Jan. 11, 2016. A lawsuit has not yet been filed, but Loya is prepared to move forward as a plaintiff if the City does not address
Jeff Goodman
RALLY: Maria Loya and her husband Oscar de la Torre held a press conference/rally outside City Hall on Dec. 15 to demand that Santa Monica abandon at-large elections in favor of a district based election system.
her concerns. Multiple attempts to reach a City spokeswoman were not successful Tuesday afternoon. Loya’s call for reform
reflects ongoing frustration among residents of the Pico neighborhood, which has a high concentration of Latino families, about racial discrimination and political
disenfranchisement. The only current councilman who lives in the Pico neighborhood, Terry O’Day, is SEE VOTE PAGE 7
Community Corp. affordable housing list open through December BY MATTHEW HALL Daily Press Editor
Community Corporation of Santa Monica opened its doors to new applicants earlier this month, kicking off the long, competitive process for affordable housing for low to moderate income households. The multi-step system
begins with applicants picking up an appointment card at 502 Colorado Ave. (from the Community Room). That card will specify a date and time for a January seminar where applicants will fill out a questionnaire to join the Marketing List. Appointment cards are available from Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Dec. 16, 17,
21, 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30. Community Corp. said exact income requirements to qualify for its units varies based on Federal, State and local housing programs. “As an estimate, the lowest income for one person is approximately $1,380 per month. If you have a Section 8 Voucher, there is no minimum income,” said their Frequently Asked Questions
document. Aside from income qualifications, prospective tenants cannot have been evicted in the past five years or have more than $2,500 in negative credit. Personal and property crime convictions within the last five years are also reasons for denial. According to Community Corp., between 3,000 and 5,000 people
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attend the open house or reject the unit prior to filing an application, they are returned to the list for another opportunity. If a household has their application processed and turns down the unit they are removed from the list for the remainder of that list year but are able to apply the folSEE HOUSING PAGE 9
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apply each year, but the annual turnover rate is usually less than 2 percent or fewer than 120 units. When a unit does become available, Community Corp. invites 30-60 people to tour the unit. Invitees are randomly selected from the pool of applicants that fit the requirements for that unit. If applicants do not
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