Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
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Have you ever wished that you could be recruited by the Men in Black? This story is about a guy who actually was. One day in 2001, Mansour Jabbaar (M.J.) George was strolling through the Topanga Canyon mall when he was stopped by a casting director from Central Casting. She asked MJ, if he would like to try out to be a Body Double for Will Smith. Columbia studios was then filming Men in Black II, and they needed an actor who resembled Smith. She gave MJ a card and told him to...
Before you take a walk to the mailbox, you should know that it's not there. And former US President Donald J. Trump had nothing to do with it. Local residents woke up Saturday morning to find mailboxes removed from sidewalks in front of Will Rogers Station, the post office located at 12th and Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica. Post boxes were apparently also removed from sidewalks in front of other US post offices, including the PO on Nielson Way and the main Santa Monica post...
When in the Course of Human Events, a guy who grew up in San Gabriel Valley applies for the top job in Santa Monica, and gets offered it along with $440,000 a year, health care for himself and his family and a full pension for life in five years, and then said guy turns it down; you gotta ask why, right? “Stepping into Santa Monica city government doesn't look like the career move anyone would want,” posted one local resident on social media. “We are bankrupt, crime is escal...
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva declared Monday that the LASD would clear the large homeless encampments from Venice Beach by July 4, over the objections of City Council member Mike Bonin. "Today I visited the Venice Boardwalk again to view the failures of local politicians in regard to the homeless crisis," Villanueva tweeted. "Tomorrow the @LASDHQ Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST) will be assessing Venice in order to triage the crisis and develop an action pl...
Unlike last summer where the entire country was stuck at home, millions of Americans are expected to travel during the summer of 2021. Many will be expected to travel to Los Angeles, where the Santa Monica Pier of course is a favorite destination. Recently I dropped off a passenger flying to Rio de Janeiro. I was unable to park in the Airport circle at all. Parking structure 5 is under construction. I was also unable to pull into the famous "White Zone." In recent years, LAX...
Let's face it, being appointed Santa Monica City manager is kind of a $430,000 a year booby prize. The City's progressive residents demand contradictory things of its government. Embrace all and be diverse, but move the homeless people out of my backyard. Provide a safe environment, while at the same time bring in hundreds of thousands of visitors and build public housing on every square inch of available land. No surprise that this hasn't worked out particularly well...
As Covid retreats, Disney is advancing with the world's very first Avenger's theme park. The Avengers Campus will open on June 4 at Disney California Adventure Park. "In just a few days, you'll be invited to team up with the Avengers and their allies to live out your Super Hero dreams as Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure park!" Said Disneyland in a press release. The avengers campus was dedicated and opened for a press preview, in a ceremony that included Ironman...
At tonight's Santa Monica City Council meeting, longtime City Council member Kevin McKeown announced that he would retire as of June 11, 2021. He cited his advancing age. "I know I don't look it, but I'm well into my 70's" he said. He noted that it had been an honor and a privilege to serve the community. He has been a member of the 7 member Council for 25 years. The other Council members expressed shock and surprise at McKeown's announcement, which came as the meeting was...
Venice residents are tired of seeing the once famous, though eclectic, boardwalk turned into one large homeless encampment. And they're talking to the media this week. For example, the UK Daily Mail writes: "On Sunday Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan, 81, warned the homeless away. 'This is my house, not yours,' he wrote on a note he posted on the gate of his $3.5 million Venice Beach home. Hogan complained that he is homesick and desperate to return to his native Australia but...
The fire began Friday night at Michael Lane and Palisades Court. As the fire spread, people on social media wondered: Did some homeless guy (or gal) start the fire? Police are searching for an arson suspect believed to have started the fire. They have questioned two men, one of whom is on probation for setting fires. Authorities have a large perimeter set up, and were canvassing the area hoping to find him. Helicopters dropped non stop water on the hills near pacific...
5/13/21: We've all become used to covering our faces everywhere. But as announced Thursday morning by the head of the Centers for Disease Control, and echoed by US President Joseph Biden, there is no longer a need to wear a mask whether indoors or outdoors. President Biden credited an "all out effort" to vaccinate Americans. About half of the adult population is vaccinated. "The CDC is saying they have concluded that fully vaccinated people are at a very low risk of getting Co...
4/30: A major natural gas leak near the intersection of Lipton Avenue and Berkeley Street, has caused an eight-block area of Santa Monica to lose electrical power and natural gas. Residents as far west as 24th Street reported that they could smell natural gas. The outage began at about 6 p.m. on Thursday April 29th, and had not been resolved as of 4 p.m. Friday April 30th. An excavator hit a 16" pipeline underground. "It's like a car wreck down there," explained a Southern Cal...
Forget that silly stuff about Meghan and Harry. Here's a story that actually affects you: On Sunday, April 18th Krispy Kreme Donuts will close its Santa Monica location at Euclid (13th Street) and Wilshire. "Dear Santa Monica Community: Our lease is expiring and this store will be closing permanently on April 18th," said a sign on the counter at KK." we have enjoyed serving you" the sign continued, and please visit our website for other locations. This will leave only 3 donut...
Cats have shared campfires with humans for the last 10,000 years. At one time it was thought that ancient Egyptian priests domesticated the house cat from African wildcats. But when archaeologists discovered an 8500 year old grave on Cyprus containing a young girl and her cat, they knew the relationship went back much longer than the pyramids. It is also believed that cats decided to move in with us. They "self-domesticated," the only animal ever to do so on a large scale. In...
Apparently seeking an alternative to the drive to split Malibu from the SMMUSD, proponents of a recall petition are seeking to recall four members of the Santa Monica Malibu School Board. "Santa Monica and Malibu Parents Jointly Launch Recall of Four School Board Members", said the group in a press release. The effort is direct against four members of the board: Laurie Lieberman, Maria Leon-Vasquez, Jon Kean, and Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein. The recall proponents allege "seri...
A water main break in Pacific Palisades Sunday night after 9 pm, flooded an apartment building's parking garage in Pacific Palisades. The breach on Sunset Blvd was centered across the street from Palisades Charter High School, from El Medio Drive to Marquez Avenue. LA County Lifeguards walked from car to car through waste deep water in the underground car park, searching the vehicles to ensure no one had been trapped there. Local residents were without water above Sunset betwe...
Earth averages two major volcanic eruptions each year. So far this year, the biggest one erupted just 20 miles away from the Icelandic capital city, Reykjavík. Iceland boasts only 364,000 residents. About ten percent of them drove to see the volcano in Iceland's Southwest corner, on the Reykjanes peninsula the weekend of March 20th. At night glowing lava is actually visible from the Capital, where half of Iceland's population reside. "Following a three-week period of...
3/11: The Santa Clarita division of the LA County Sheriff's Department reports that it has recovered 250 stolen catalytic converters, and arrested 19 suspects. The smog mediation devices, which scrub automobile exhaust, are frequently stolen by thieves who sell them to scrap dealers. The converters are said to be worth $250 to $750 each. The entire lot of 250 catalytic converters is estimated to be worth $750,000 or so. The 19 arrested people men also had $100,000 in cash on t...
Golf legend Tiger Woods was seriously injured and taken to the hospital in a car crash near the Genesis Invitational Gold Tournament in Rancho Palos Verdes early Tuesday morninb. The accident involved only Woods' vehicle, which rolled down the side of a hill and appeared to have been crush. The sheriffs department corrected and said that the jaws of life were not used. Speaking at a press conference, a Sheriff's spokesman said Woods was rescued through the vehicles...
8: A highly convincing video with over 26 million views on Twitter and Facebook, appears to show the Mars Perseverance Rover on the Martian surface, with audio. While Perseverance will ultimately broadcast audio and video from the Martian surface, the video now going viral is not actually from NASA at all. While NASA did land Perseverance on Mars, many on the internet are unintentionally sharing a false video. The 26 second fake video claimed to be from Mars...
2/17: The theft of a car part called a catalytic converter is an ongoing problem in Los Angeles County. All cars sold in California after 1974 are required to have catalytic converters. When cars are not parked in a secure area, thieves steal the converters, which are designed to clean automobile exhaust. The main reason that catalytic converters are stolen is because they're valuable to scrap metal dealers, auto experts say. They contain precious metals, including rhodium,...
An attorney who appeared before the 394th Texas Judicial District had to argue that he was not, in fact, feline in nature. The judge assured him that it was some sort of filter, and that his appearance as fluffy, would not prejudice his client. "I'm not a cat," he argued. The court released the video to show how "attorneys were struggling to produce justice during the pandemic," and not to poke fun at attorneys. The video has gone viral and is the subject of numerous internet...
A group called Protect Ballona Wetlands, has filed a Petition for Writ of Mandate with the LA Superior Court. The lawsuit seeks to restrain the Calif. Dept of Fish and Wildlife from approving a project to “restore, enhance, and establish native coastal wetland and upland habitats on approximately 566 acres within the Ballona Reserve.” The group alleges that the State’s description of the plan as restoration is “disingenuous.” They say that the plan will actually harm wildlife,...
An atmospheric river passed through Santa Monica last night, dropping 3 inches of rain. LA County gets about 14 inches of rain in a typical year, so that's about a quarter of our annual rainfall in one storm. Santa Monica resident Liz Angeles wondered where the birds go when it rains? She shot these photos attempting to find out. She discovered that the intelligent birds were practicing social distancing. Anthony Fauci has apparently inspired them to avoid coronavirus. Days...
The City of Santa Monica has extended its emergency order preventing residential and commercial tenants from being evicted for nonpayment of rent, to March 31, 2021. Which begs the question, why pay rent? Eviction defense lawyers we spoke to, said they recommend remaining on good terms with your landlord. He's still expected to pay property taxes, after all. The State of California does have a record of helping landlords collect rents, through strict laws and summary unlawful...
