The Lookout News

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

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				City of Santa Monica

NEWS

Santa Monica Contractor Charged with Bilking Client
An unlicensed Santa Monica contractor faces criminal charges after allegedly collecting a $15,000 down payment to remodel a kitchen, then pocketing the money without doing the work, according to the City Attorney’s office. The arraignment of Hosayn Mandi, owner of New Line Interiors in Santa Monica, is part of a City crackdown on contractors engaging in illegal practices.

City Offers Christmas Tree Recycling
With the 12 days of Christmas now over, those who want to take their trees down can take advantage of the City’s various recycling services. Santa Monicans can drop off their trees at four City parks -- Clover, Douglas, Christine Reed and Los Amigos -- as well as at the City's Refuse and Recycling Transfer Station transfer station at 2401 Delaware Avenue.

Three Cheers for Kronovet as the “isms” Panic
In a state of apparent apoplexy over the recent election of landlord and property owner Robert Kronovet to the Rent Control Board, a recent letter writer to The Lookout implies (if not asserts) that Kronovet is a threat “to all Santa Monicans who recognize that affordable housing is a human right” (emphasis supplied).

BE INFORMED
To keep up to date on breaking stories relating to key Santa Monica issues, click on the links below

California's legislative leaders prepared to cut own budgets
Democratic legislative leaders said Monday that California's $40 billion budget deficit will require the Legislature to sacrifice, but they declined to agree to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal that they cut their budget by 10 percent.

An Urban Neighborhood on the Rise
How a formerly thriving streetcar neighborhood has become a thriving Metro neighborhood -- despite decades of decline in between.

Auditors flag city's fed grant managing
San Diego may have to repay the federal government more than $1.8 million, as auditors have found the city mismanaged grant money meant to help poor neighborhoods and low-income residents.

A Cleaner Way to Keep the City Running
For centuries, grist-grinders and sailors have exploited the wind. Now, New York developers, homeowners and city leaders might be coming around.

The 'McMansion' trend in housing is slowing
Economic hard times, plus shifting neighborhood and urban values, are key factors.

SULLIVAN-DITURI REALTORS

Discounts fail to drive car sales
Lack of consumer confidence is keeping buyers away

More Santa Monica Businesses Go Green
From hotel workers using a salt and water solution to clean to a tour of green roofs for high school students to a restaurant forged from recovered boards, Santa Monica businesses are increasingly going green.

MORE STORIES

The Year in Review
2008 was a year of big -- sometimes sensational -- headlines. It was a year that saw defining events that will long shape the future of the beachside city, as well as tragic crimes that grabbed headlines far beyond its borders. While the political landscape remained little changed by a major election, the Downtown was transformed both by the votes of property owners and by the wrecking ball. Stories that had dragged on for years finally came to a conclusion, or at least a major turning point in 2008.

Bloom Joins Homeless Non-Profit
Middle School Teacher Pleads Guilty to Molestation Charges
PUBLIC NOTICE -- Volunteer for the
Homeless Count
Borders Closes Santa Monica Chapter
WHAT I SAY -- End of The Year Thoughts
GIVE Santa Monica
New Guard Takes Over School Board
Holiday Safety Tips
LETTERS -- More Homeless Seek Help
PUBLIC NOTICE -- Volunteers Needed
Santa Monica Tackling Chronic Homelessness, Emergency Food Shortages, City Officials Report
Santa Monica Man Dies in Car Crash
OPINION -- Our Friend Griff Hoerner Frozen Fun

Services for Santa Monica Activist Saturday
A memorial service for Clyde Smith, an outspoken community activist and local African American leader, will be held on Saturday. Smith, who long fought to increase services for the Pico Neighborhood, died Thursday after a brief illness.

WHAT I SAY -- Happy New Century?
Happy New Year -- although if your politics are like those of a cousin of mine, maybe you're not celebrating until Jan. 20.

Spreading the Joy
WHAT I SAY -- There we go but for . . .
Genser Mayor for Two Terms
Scrooge Visits Downtown Merchants
Mayor’s Seat Up for Grabs
Brady Elected Chair of School District Personnel Commission
SMRR Won’t Challenge Kronovet Victory
WHAT I SAY--Not so invincible; and the place that is Chez Jay
LETTERS -- Kronovet Election Should Concern Renters
Strange Rent Control Saga Ends
Council Explores Closing Exercise Stairs
PUBLIC NOTICE -- Tuesday's Council Meeting Wrap Up
WHAT I SAY- Stair City East and Stair City West

OPINION -- Preserve Our Neighborhoods
2009 is our year to get more serious about preserving existing, occupied
affordable housing in Santa Monica. In tough times, we can work together to
make sure more of our neighbors don't suffer eviction.

OPINION -- The Power of Partnership in the New Year
When I look around this room to take note of dignitaries to acknowledge, I am overcome by the desire to honor and acknowledge everyone.

EXTRA!!! Historic! SMRR Foe Wins Rent Bd Seat; Shriver Posts 2nd-highest Council Tally Ever
City to Pony Up for Traffic Plan
PAL Looking for Golf Sponsors
PUBLIC NOTICE -- Gingerbread Bus Hits All the Right Notes
LA Officials Derail Plan to Bus Homeless to Winter Shelters
Council Tackles Exercise Problem
PUBLIC NOTICE -- School District Financial Oversight Committee Accepting Applications
EXTRA!!! Republican Landlord Could Make History
Santa Monica “Digital Cities Survey” Winner
Holiday Season Shopping Tips
A Seasonal Twist on Ice
WHAT I SAY -- Alternate Realities?
MORE

HEALTH NEWS		Volunteer Opportunities Making a Difference At Saint John's Health Center, volunteers make a real difference because they become an integral part of the Saint John's family through a carefully designed program of service that allows them to perform many hours of assistance in carefully selected areas. We are truly blessed to have an amazing group of volunteers who support our Mission by helping to create an exceptional place for health and healing. The New Saint John's The Chan Soon-Shiong Center for Life Sciences fulfills Saint John's mission of bringing the most advanced patient care available in a compassionate, healing environment. Its design and amenities are unparalleled anywhere in the city of Los Angeles.
Ask the Doctor at Saint John’s: The latest Advances in Radiation Treatment of Cancer
Q. What are the latest advances in radiation treatment of various types of Cancer? Radiation oncology is one of three methods used to treat cancer. It may be used in conjunction with surgery to remove tumors, and chemotherapy – the intravenous administration of drugs to shrink and destroy cancer cells. New RN Grad Program At Saint John’s Health Center, our new graduate program provides you with assistance with your transition from a student to the role of a professional nurse.

RAN D RESEARCH		How Effective Are Middle School Reading Coaches? Many middle school students struggle when it comes to developing advanced reading skills. One increasingly common approach for improving literacy skills is to use school-based literacy or reading coaches: trained master teachers who provide leadership for the school’s literacy program and offer onsite and ongoing support for teachers so they can improve their students’ literacy. But how effective are such coaches? A RAND Corporation study sought to help answer that question by examining a statewide reading coach program in 113 Florida middle schools. News Release Read the Abstract View the VideoResearch Brief Check out other RAND Health research on Influences on Adolescent Sexual Behavior
Sex on TV and Teen Pregnancy RAND Study Is First to Link Viewing of Sexual Content on Television to Subsequent Teen Pregnancy Adolescents who have high levels of exposure to television programs that contain sexual content are twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy over the following three years as their peers who watch few such shows, according to a new RAND Corporation study. MORE

DISCLOSURES