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WHAT’S UP WESTSIDE ..................PAGE 2 THE 2015 SAMMIES ........................PAGE 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ............PAGE 5 CRIME WATCH ................................PAGE 10 MYSTERY PHOTO ............................PAGE 11
MONDAY
12.28.15 Volume 15 Issue 34
@smdailypress
Santa Monica Daily Press
What’s in store for 2016? City Manager Rick Cole, others reflect on goals for new year
‘GETTING THINGS DONE’
Rick Cole, Santa Monica’s city manager: I believe the unanimous vote by the City Council on October 13 to shift from project-by-project development negotiations marks a promising new opportunity for Santa Monica. With unanimous adoption of the citywide zoning code in June, we can ensure future development is guided by a consistent, transparent and coherent framework once we complete work on the Downtown Community Plan. DP: What do you hope the New Year holds for you? RC: Getting things done. Expo, the Colorado Esplanade and the California Incline will open. Beginning with the adoption of the minimum wage, 2016 will be a year when Santa Monica continues to lead in creating a model city that works for everyone.
Daily Press: What was your most significant event of 2015 and why?
FOCUS ON FAMILY
BY DAILY PRESS STAFF The calendar year is drawing to a close, and 2016 is around the corner. For many, the final days of December are a time for reflecting on past accomplishments and crafting resolutions for future goals and commitments. Will you seek a career promotion? Take up a new hobby? Travel to a place you’ve never explored before? Make a new friend? Shed a few pounds? Volunteer for a charity? The Daily Press asked public officials and other community leaders to share their thoughts on what they’re hoping to see in the new year. The following is a sampling of their responses:
CHECK MATES
Daily Press: What do you hope the New Year holds for you? City Councilmember Ted Winterer: My main resolution for 2016 is to be more wholly present with my wife and kids. I’m aware that too often when they’re trying to converse with me, I’m preoccupied with my day job or Council matters and thus am guilty of not giving them my undivided attention, which they very much deserve. I need to learn to set aside my worries when I walk in the front door of our home and to fully engage with my family. HELPING THE HUNGRY
Daily Press: What was your most significant event of 2015 and why? Chris Baca, Meals on Wheels West executive director: The continuous SEE GOALS PAGE 6
Courtesy photo
Meals on Wheels West executive director Chris Baca (front left) accepts a donation from Lisa Gumenick and dancers from the Santa Monicabased Pretenders Studio. The dancers raised funds for the local nonprofit through this month’s Dancing for a Difference performance. Dancers and other volunteers also helped Meals on Wheels West distribute holidays gifts to clients this holiday season.
‘Force Awakens’ becomes fastest movie to $1 billion BY SANDY COHEN AP Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES — “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has reached $1 billion at the box office, achieving the milestone with record-setting hyper speed. The Walt Disney Co. said “The Force Awakens” crossed the billiondollar mark Sunday, accomplishing the
feat in just 12 days. The previous movie to reach $1 billion the fastest was Universal’s “Jurassic World,” which did it in 13 days in June. “Jurassic World” also had the benefit of record grosses in China. “The Force Awakens” doesn’t open in the world’s second-largest movie market until Jan. 9. J.J. Abrams’ installment of “Star Wars” also posted the biggest Christmas Day box office in history
with $49.3 million and the best secondweekend earnings with $153.5 million. “The Force Awakens” has been setting records since its debut Dec. 17. It brought in a galactic $238 million in North America over its opening weekend, besting previous record-setter “Jurassic World,” and set international opening-weekend records in Australia, SEE MOVIE PAGE 6
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100 YEARS AGO:
Flames engulf Ocean Park pier Editor’s note: This monthly feature uncovers Santa Monica’s history by compiling notable city happenings from a century ago. The stories are found in old newspaper archives.
BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
Authorities were working to determine the cause of a large fire that broke out on the Ocean Park pier a century ago this month. Witnesses described “two mysterious men in a boat” close to the pier’s dance pavilion before flames erupted in the early hours of Dec. 27, 1915, burning bowling alleys, a roller coaster and other attractions, according to an archived Los Angeles Times article. The blaze, which was spurred on by a 100-gallon fuel tank, caused estimated damages of approximately $140,000 (nearly $3.3 million in 2015 money). “Thousands of persons from neighboring places and as far away as Los Angeles rushed by automobile to watch the play of the flames,” the article reads. Santa Monica and Venice firefighters responded to the scene. Los Angeles authorities brought additional equipment and assisted with crowd control. Ocean Park was still planning to hold its midwinter fiesta, according to the article. WATER BOND DEFEATED
Santa Monica voters failed to pass a ballot measure approving the city’s purchase of four water plants 100 years ago this month,
according to a Times brief. Supporters outnumbered opponents of the $712,500 bond (nearly $17 million in 2015 money) at the polls, but they fell a few dozen votes short of the necessary two-thirds requirement. The measure was “hotly contested” and caused “much bickering” in the six voting precincts, according to the brief. Before the election, the president of the state’s railroad commission had urged voters to support the city’s purchase of the four water systems. “I would say unhesitatingly that in my opinion the people of Santa Monica would do well to acquire these properties,” Max Thelen said, according to a Times brief. DOUBLE DUTY?
In an attempt to save the city money, a public official named himself Santa Monica’s police chief a century ago this month. After being elected as the city’s public safety commissioner, Samuel L. Berkley said he would run the police department if Ellis E. Randall was no longer interested in serving as police chief. “I merely desire to eliminate that extra expense,” Berkeley said, according to a Times brief. “If I cannot handle this work with my SEE HISTORY PAGE 9
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