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  • Controversial Tweet by Tulsi Gabbard Blames Biden, NATO For Putin's Paranoia

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Feb 25, 2022

    A controversial tweet from former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, is raising a lot of eyebrows. @TulsiGabbard·tweeted: This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia's legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine's becoming a member of NATO, which would mean US/NATO forces right on Russia's border." Putin does not see NATO as a defensive alliance. He has seen NATO offensive operations in Iraq and...

  • Biden Announces More Sanctions Against Russia, but not the Removal of Russia From the Swift Financial System

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Feb 24, 2022

    President Joe Biden announced "strong sanctions" against Russia Thursday morning, calling it a "major hit to Putin's long terms ambitions." As expected, he said Russia would be excluded from dollar capital markets, and that there would be sanctions on Russian individuals and banks. However, he did NOT announce that Russia would be excluded from SWIFT at this time. More on that below. He said that "our forces will not be engaged in the conflict in Ukraine," but that more forces...

  • Hail Falls On Santa Monica for the First Time Since 2014

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Feb 22, 2022

    For the first time since 2014, it has hailed in Santa Monica. The white pebbles bounced off Montana Avenue, in this video from our news desk shot on Feb. 15th at 4:40 pm PST. Ice fell from Westside skies as a band of cold rain passed through the region, 2 days after 80 degree temperatures during the Super Bowl. It was accompanied by the sound of thunder. Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often...

  • Video of Canadian Protestors Hugging Police and Singing National Anthem of Canada, Goes Vira

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Feb 22, 2022

    While Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has ramped up the rhetoric, not everyone in Canada feels confrontational towards the protesting truckers who have shut down the national capital, Ottawa. A video of Canadian protestors hugging RCMP police and singing "O Canada," the Canadian National Anthem, has gone a viral on Twitter. Some of the comments: Trigger warning: inside view of a Canadian emergency," tweted Dr. Jordan Peterson, retweeting TheRealKeanan, who posted the video to...

  • In an Apparent Prelude to Invasion, Putin Recognizes Breakaway Ukrainian Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Feb 22, 2022

    In a move that some analysts said would lead to sending in the Russian Army across the border and into Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has recognized the break away Ukrainian areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. Separatists in those areas, supported since 2014 by the Russian Army, have declared themselves independent Russian speaking regions. The separatists however control only about a third of the territories of those provinces. They will no doubt request the urgent...

  • SMC Grad Mickey Guyton Sings the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVI

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Feb 18, 2022

    SMC Graduate Mickey Guyton sang the national anthem at last week's super bowl. She is black, female and a country music singer, making her pretty much unique. Country Music artists who are black and female are a rarity, and Guyton has said that she has been the subject of discrimination. In 2019, Guyton chose to write music that reflected more of her struggles as a black woman. In early 2020, she released a single that came from those songwriting sessions titled "What Are You...

  • LA Superior Court Resumes Jury Trials, In a Sign that the Covid Pandemic is Waning

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Feb 17, 2022

    The Los Angeles Superior Court will resume jury trials this week. The order from the presiding judge covers both Civil and Criminal jury trials. Jurors will be expected to wear face masks. "I remain in close contact with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to assess any emerging virus threats. However, while virus spread and hospitalizations are declining, it is time to restore full trial operations," the official press release quotes Judge Eric C. Taylor. The n...

  • Santa Monica City Councilmember Gleam Davis Leaves the Reservation, Goes Out Hunting For Bear

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Feb 12, 2022

    In what City Councilmember Phil Brock called a "Partisan Witch Hunt" Gleam Davis said she was prepared to go to the DA and swear out a warrant to seal leaks to the press. She's seemingly furious that 4 freshmen City council members were able to select David White as the new City Manager, and divert contracts from real estate developers Davis and Sue Himmelrich favor. Kristin McCowan will generally vote with Davis and Himmelrich. Davis sponsored and the City Council adopted a...

  • Dog's Life: K-9 Jack Keeps Santa Monica Safe From Explosives.

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Feb 11, 2022

    K-9 Jack is an explosives expert at moving and static explosives; a fine distinction we'll explain in a moment. We met the yellow Labrador and his trainer, Officer Elaina Hassan, playing catch on the lawn in front of the Santa Monica Courthouse. "We got him on a federal grant," explained Hassan, Jack's full time trainer. "He's already found two guns on the Promenade, and one gun on the Santa Monica Pier. Not to mention numerous suspicious packages," she said. The packages...

  • After Beating Business Owners on a Technicality, City of Santa Monica to Demolish Parking Structure 3 on February 14

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Feb 4, 2022
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    The City of Santa Monica is wasting no time to demolish Parking Structure 3. The City is rushing to demolish the structure to create facts on the ground, and to discourage the property owners who oppose its replacement by a high end homeless shelter. The doomed structure won a reprieve in December, when Superior Court Judge Michael Beckloff granted an injunction against demolition, on grounds that CEQA had not been complied with by the City. However, two can play at the...

  • UCLA Closed by Threat of Mass Shooting From Former Philosophy Dept. Lecturer

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Feb 2, 2022

    2/1/22 UCLA has been closed to in person classes today, after disturbing posts and emails from a former UCLA Lecturer of Philosophy. Matthew Harris posted videos glorifying the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, and saying that he would or might do the same thing at UCLA. Harris sent emails to faculty and students, linking to the video. Police are looking for Harris, and again the school is closed to in person classes. An online review of Harris described him as emotional, prone...

  • Largest Volcanic Eruption Of This Century Could Be Heard 6,500 Miles Away in Fairbanks, Alaska

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jan 25, 2022

    January 14th's eruption of Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano, located on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, sent tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean. The audible report carried some 2,300 kilometers away in New Zealand, a distance of over 1,430 miles. It was widely reported (including by seismologist Lucy Jones), that this was "a once in 1000 year event." Actually, the eruption was a once in 1000 year event at this particular undersea volcano, which also erupted i...

  • Arrest in Brianna Kupfer Murder Investigation

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jan 21, 2022

    LA was shocked to hear on January 13th, that a young woman working at a high end furniture store on La Brea, was stabbed and killed by a homeless man. Police made an arrest Monday in the murder investigation surrounding the murder of Brianna Kupfer. Pasadena police arrested Shawn Lavall Smith, 31, on Fair Oaks Blvd. TMZ is reporting that Wednesday morning, a citizen thought he recognized Smith on the street and called police. The homeless man was filmed walking into the...

  • LA Superior Court Extends Deadlines for Criminal Cases by Two Weeks Because of Omicron Variant of Covid-19

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jan 20, 2022

    Citing the surge in Covid 19 infections caused by the kinder and gently Omicron variant, the LA Superior Court has extended criminal deadlines two weeks. Unlike Civil litigants, criminal defendants have the 6th amendment constitutional right to a speedy trial. In California, that ordinarily means a criminal case must go to trial within 70 days of the time it is filed. The presiding judge has declared an emergency, and extended that by two weeks. Is this important? Well...

  • LAPD Names 31 year old homeless man as chief Suspect in Murder of Brianna Kupfer

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jan 19, 2022

    The LAPD has named a homeless man as the prime suspect in the stabbing murder of Brianna Kupfer, 24. The murder has shocked Los Angeles and the rest of the United States. The 24 year old graduate student was working alone at a furniture store in the high end part of Hancock Park, an area that had been regarded as safe previously. "31-year-old Shawn Laval Smith has been identified in connection with the murder of Brianna Kupfer, which occurred in the 300 block of North La Brea...

  • Tsunami in Santa Cruz, CA Raises Sea Level by Three Feet.

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer.|Updated Jan 15, 2022

    Waves from an undersea eruption near the island nation of Tonga, came ashore Saturday morning in Santa Cruz, California. The waves reportedly raised water levels a full 3 feet in some areas. The tsunami caused minor flooding in Santa Cruz, California. https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1482389879304642565?s=20 In Neskowan, Oregon, the Tsunami came ashore as a three foot wave as well. https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1482415410674868235?s=20 A tsunami advisory was issued for...

  • Developer Proposes 521 Unit Apartment Tower For the Corner of Lincoln and Ocean Park Blvd

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jan 11, 2022
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    The owner of the Lincoln Center has proposed replacing the 1980's era parking lot and stores, with 521 residential units. The building would be 5 stories in height--around 65 feet. It would also contain 36,000 square feet of retain and restaurant space, 880 automobile parking spaces and 816 bicycle spaces. Balboa Retail Partners owns the complex and Cypress Equity Investments (CEI) is the development company behind it," explains one opponent. "CEI is also behind many massive...

  • Ghislaine Maxwell Very Likely to be Freed Due to Juror Misconduct, Failure to Disclose Personal Histories.

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jan 8, 2022

    Not one, but two jurors have admitted that they failed to disclose a personal history of sexual abuse, when questioned by counsel in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex abuse trial. This is sufficient to win a Motion for Mistrial, legal experts say. In December, Maxwell, 61, was convicted of five counts of sexually abusing minors with Epstein. If granted a new trial, it would be difficult to continue to imprison Maxwell. She would then have been locked up continuously for a year....

  • Los Angeles Superior Court Delays All Criminal Trials; Urges Counsel to Continue Civil Jury Trials

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jan 7, 2022

    Citing a "holiday surge due to Covid", the Los Angeles Superior Court has announced that it will delay all criminal trials 2 weeks. The Court also urged counsel to meet and confer on civil jury trials, and stipulate to continue them. This announced in a press release on the Superior Court website, https://www.lacourt.org/ In relevant part, the press release from the LA Superior Court reads as follows: PRESIDING JUDGE ERIC C. TAYLOR ISSUES GENERAL ORDER TO DELAY CRIMINAL...

  • Putin Hopes to Win Back All of Eastern Europe With his Ukraine Gambit--Poland, the Baltic States, Hungary and Bulgaria

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jan 4, 2022
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    Russia has 175,000 troops massed along the border with Eastern Ukraine. But he has placed calls to US President Joseph R. Biden, offering peace talks. What exactly does he have in mind? This is clearly the size of an invasion force. The United States had only 120,000 troops in Saudi Arabia before she invaded Iraq in 1992. Vladimir Putin is a strongman, and his Country loves him for it. He has been in office for 20 years. At 68 he could win another 3 or 4 elections in Russia....

  • Overlooked Local Stories Include Lack of Homeless Services East of Lincoln, and The Addition of 9000 Housing Units

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Wrtier|Updated Jan 2, 2022

    I'm not sure about "overlooked." But I believe underplayed in some quarters are the continued illegal and criminal activity with the hot dog/corn/fruit vendors at the Santa Monica Pier. And the detrimental impacts of the 8,895 housing units now being constructed, to meet the State's RHNA requirements. On the other hand, I would note that no high rises were discussed or brought before the Santa Monica City Council this year. That is a milestone in our efforts to restore Santa...

  • LAX Pups: Therapy Dogs Greet Visitors at Nation's Second Busiest Airport

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Dec 31, 2021

    Therapy dogs dressed in Christmas outfits helped 200,000 passengers a day pass through Los Angeles International Airport during the holiday period. "Happy "Howl"idays from our @LAXPUPS," says a tweet on, well, twitter. The dogs are named "Serjio, Mia, Mason and Ellie! If you are flying this holiday season, look out for them greeting guests in the terminals. #LAX #LAXPups. LAX airport has undergone massive construction in recent months, as a train or "people mover" is under...

  • Local Boy Scout Troop Runs a Christmas Tree Lot on Wilshire Blvd

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Dec 30, 2021

    Despite the fires and the drought, Christmas trees arrived in Santa Monica on time this year. Jerry's Liquor Store's parking lot has been transformed into an urban forest of Christmas trees. And for a few dollars, you can take one home yourself. That's right, a good old fashioned Christmas tree lot run by local boy scouts, right here in Santa Monica. Featuring Oregon grown trees! For about the 50th year, Boy Scout Troop 2 is conducting a Christmas Tree sale. "These kids are...

  • Northbound PCH, Mulholland Highway Closed Thursday due to Mud and Rock Slides

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Dec 30, 2021

    3/30/21:Los Angeles County is experiencing its heaviest rainstorm since 2016. Over 6 inches of rain have fallen in some areas of the County in the last week. Several roads or highways have been closed due to mud, snow and ice. The SMFD reported Thursday at 1 pm, that it was responding to a Flood Incident in the 2900 Block of Main Street. "Avoid the area, possible delays, hazards," said the SMFD tweet. Due to a mudslide, CalTrans has close the Northbound PCH from the McClure...

  • SM Bayside Business Owners Assn. Wins TRO Injunction Against Demolition of Parking Structure 3

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Dec 24, 2021
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    The SMBOA Friday obtained a Superior Court temporary restraining order against the demolition of Parking Structure 3. The City of Santa Monica wanted to demolish the parking structure and replace it with supportive housing for the homeless. Santa Monica Bayside Owners Association is a group of business owners and real estate investors who have opposed the project slated for downtown Santa Monica. The California Coastal Commission approved the demolition with evidence of...

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