ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
INSIDE SCOOP
COMMENTARY
SCULPTOR GRAHAM DIES AT AGE 70 PAGE 3 AND THE SAMMY GOES TO ... PAGE 4
MONDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2008
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Volume 7 Issue 350
Santa Monica Daily Press FEELING THE LOVE SEE PAGE 12
Since 2001: A news odyssey
THE CROWDED STREETS ISSUE
Elevated borrowing fees sock taxpayers BY JUDY LIN Associated Press Writer
SACRAMENTO California’s need to borrow billions to handle its basic government expenses in a soured credit market is costing taxpayers millions of dollars in heightened bank fees. State treasury figures reviewed by The Associated Press show California paid $11.5 million to dozens of banks and financial firms for selling a $5 billion short-term loan in October. In comparison, California paid $3.8 million in fees when it took out a $7 billion note last year. Put another way, state taxpayers went from paying roughly $5.40 for every $10,000 borrowed to $23. California will continue paying high bank fees in the months ahead because it needs billions more to cover basic operating expenses. The higher fees represent just a fraction of California’s $14.8 billion budget deficit this fiscal year but anger
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER
Fabian Lewkowicz FabianLewkowicz.com Thousands of people walk on the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday. Downtown was also a popular spot for the legions of people who visited the city.
SEE FEES PAGE 11
COMMUNITYPROFILES MATT MABREY
Working to become a better teacher BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
SAMOHI Teaching science to a group of ninth graders is no easy feat for a young teacher still early in their career. When 27-year-old Matt Mabrey learned about a year-long professional development program aimed at reducing the high attrition rate among science educators new to the profession, the Santa Monica High School biology teacher decided to seize the opportunity.
Mabrey, who has been in the educational field for three years, and 185 colleagues from across the country were recently named as the New Science Teacher Academy Fellows, spending the next year honing their teaching skills and becoming better at inspiring passion for the discipline in their students. The program, which is sponsored by the National Science Teachers Association, pairs a fellow with a teaching veteran who will serve as an e-mentor over the next year, communicating at least once a week online
platinum
to discuss different challenges and solutions. The fellowship also includes financial support to attend the NSTA’s National Conference on Science Education in New Orleans, which was a major reason why Mabrey, who attended last year’s event, applied. “It was a shot of adrenaline and enthusiasm for any science teacher,” he said of last year’s conference. “I saw these teachers who were three years into it and still excited SEE CP PAGE 10
Gary Limjap (310) 586-0339
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