PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS HERE!
Connect Log on Stay local
Yes, in this very spot! EVERYDAY Call 310-458-7737 for details
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2009
Visit us online at smdp.com
Volume 8 Issue 102
Santa Monica Daily Press
TIME TO INVEST? SEE PAGE 6
Talk of the town
THE COMING TOGETHER ISSUE
Vacancies on the rise on Montana BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
MONTANA AVENUE The empty storefronts
Tebb Kusserow,â Muno said, referring to the two local legendary coaches. âWeâre going to have an offense that is fun and make sure that the kids learn the game from the most minute details and be strong.â After graduating from Rutgers with a degree in sports management and kinesiology, Muno spent a few years working as an assistant golf professional in Palm Desert, moving to Manhattan Beach thereafter where he coached football to seventh and eighth graders at American Martyrs Catholic Church. Four years ago, he was appointed the director for the Catholic Youth Organization, which governs athletics for all grammar schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, instituting a training program
and the for lease signs that have been popping up along this once bustling shopping district are blatant reminders for Sheila Nazarian of the harsh economic conditions. âIt just makes you not want to shop at all,â said Nazarian, who came to Montana Avenue on Tuesday to dine and buy. Home to high-end boutiques and small mom and pop stores, shops on the street have fallen victim to a combination of high rent and low patronage, spelling doom for a substantial portion of the businesses. Itâs a depressing trend experienced by other popular shopping districts because of the sagging economy. From June 2008 to the end of March, more than 30 businesses â representing roughly 15 percent of the total merchants on Montana â will have left the shopping district, leaving empty storefronts up and down the street, the majority of which are between Seventh and 17th streets. âIt doesnât look good because you see all the lease signs and itâs painfully obvious,â said Sabine Lehmann, the owner of fashion boutique Platino and the past chairman of the Montana Avenue Merchants Association. âMorale is not that great for the merchants and itâs probably not the end of it either.â But Lehmann said that foot traffic has remained stable on the street over the past few months, thanks to the support of residents in the surrounding neighborhood who continue to grab a morning coffee or take part in a yoga session. She called the recession a âDarwinistic experience.â
SEE MUNO PAGE 9
SEE MONTANA PAGE 8
Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com
BIG CHANGES: Larry Muno, the new head football coach at St. Monica Catholic High School, promises to return the program to glory.
A new ârelentlessly positive coachâ for St. Monica BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
ST. MONICA There are a lot of expected changes in store for a high school football team that only captured one win last season, whether itâs new players in the system or relearning the fundamentals of the game. But perhaps nothing will be bigger to the St. Monica Catholic High School Mariners than the hiring of new Head Coach Larry Muno, a former linebacker with Rutgers University who has dreams of restoring the rich tradition of a once competitive program. School administrators in late January announced the 43-year-old Hermosa Beach resident as the choice to take over for Sean Ritter, who was let go following a 21-19 vic-
tory against Bishop Mora Salesian High School in the final game last season, the schoolâs lone win over the past three years. The high school also hired Christian Gascou as the new strength and conditioning coach. Muno plans to instill a philosophy of being relentlessly positive, taking one from the book of UCLA Head Coach Rick Neuheisel, whom Muno knows well through his father, Larry Muno Sr., a famous sports agent who represented Joe Montana, Dwight Clark and the former Bruins quarterback during his professional playing days. âI want to let the kids know that this is a school that is not only a great academic institution but wants to be a great athletic institution as well and return to the days of CIF championships under Norm Lacy and
Gary Limjap
winter stackables
(310) 586-0339
TAXES âą BOOKKEEPING âą CORPORATIONS
In todayâs real estate climate ...
Experience counts! garylimjap@earthlink.net
SMALL BUSINESS STARTUP? SAMUEL B. MOSES, CPA
331 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica 2 Hours Free Parking (Behind Store) Monday-Saturday 10am-6p10.451.1349 âą www.readersjewelers.com
(310) 395-9922
100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1800Santa Monica 90401