Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

Articles written by david ganezer


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  • Jury Convicts Joseph Ramirez Perez, 21, of Second Degree Murder in Tongva Park

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Mar 12, 2020
    1

    Update, 3/12/20: we received the following comment by email: "You should check your facts when you're writing an article otherwise you're a gossiper not a journalist. I am the sister of the deceased and they definently didn't know the motive. I have also spoken to the defended. He clearly stated that was not what happened at the scene as I referenced you're article. It is very disrespectful to write rumors or to spectate when you dont know the truth. My brother was asleep and...

  • Malibu Half Marathon and 5K runs across Zuma Beach Sunday

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Nov 10, 2019

    The eighth annual Malibu Half Marathon ran through Zuma Beach on Sunday, Nov. 6. A 5,000 meter fun run also had a few hundred entrants. About 2,500 runners ran the annual event, which organizers described as a rare opportunity to run on Pacific Coast Highway along the beach without fighting traffics or cars. 48 year old Ken Rideout of Pacific Palisades won the event overall, with a time of 1:13:26. Emily Gallin of Malibu finished tenth overall and also won the Women's...

  • Why Are We On The Street? And What Would It Take to Change Us from Homeless to Housed

    David Ganezer, Observer Publisher|Updated Oct 28, 2019
    1

    Are all of the homeless drug addicts, unwilling to work, and psychotic? This is some people's view of them. And who can blame local residents with losing patience--the homeless dominate public parks like Reed Park, by sheer numbers. I sat down with Rattan, 28 and Guy, 50, and asked them how they ended up on the street. Both men flatly denied they suffered from mental illness or a drug problem, then told me about drugs they were using and psychological problems they...

  • Channeling the Big Lebowski: A Visit to the Sheats-Goldstein Residence.

    David Ganezer, Observer Publisher|Updated Oct 8, 2019

    The Sheats-Goldstein Residence was built long ago but remains ahead of its time. Designed by noted architect John Lautner, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Skyline that it shares with other houses on the hill. On the other hand, Jimmy Goldstein, who purchased the residence circa 1970, graciously opens his home to students. Tours are by appointment, and only to architecture students at UCLA. So be sure to take the UCLA Extension course with Architecture Professor Eleanor...

  • Third Street Promenade Reopens After Pressure Cooker Determined to be No Threat

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Sep 20, 2019

    9/16/2019: Santa Monica Police evacuated the Third Street Promenade Monday night, after a witness said that an indigent person had left a pressure cooker in or near a trash can. The SMPD called in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department bomb squad, as media helicopters circled overhead. "The SMPD is investigating a suspicious package left in a trash can in the 1400 block of the 3rd Street Promenade. We are asking everyone to stay out of the 1400 block of the Promenade...

  • Man Escapes Nazis, Soviets, Comes to California, Sells Shmatas, Endows a Synagogue, Lives a Century

    David Ganezer, Observer Publisher|Updated Sep 11, 2019

    Editor's Note: Jack Nomberg died on September 5, 2019 at 101 years of age. We are reposting this story in his honor. Funeral services will be held on Monday, September 9, at 2:00 pm at Hillside Memorial Park located at 6001 W. Centinela Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90045. After the funeral, all are encouraged to return to Kehillat Ma'arav as a community. Refreshments will be served. Minyan will begin at 6:30pm in the Sanctuary. He has lived for 100 years and in that time, escaped the...

  • Why did we take down our original story about the death of a ballplayer?

    David Ganezer, Observer Publisher|Updated Sep 3, 2019
    11

    Those who know me, know that I am feeling my own mortality these days. It isn't just the wad of cotton that's taped to my face, as a result of my second surgery to remove a cancerous growth behind my right eye. It isn't just my 59th birthday. It isn't just the death of my brother at 65 last year, from a mysterious illness that turned out to be a combination of Sarcoidosis and early onset Alzheimer's disease. It's the realization that I have become older and wiser and...

  • Channeling Amelia Earhart: 99's Re-enact Powder Puff Derby, Flying from Santa Monica Airport

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Aug 28, 2019

    Twenty women pilots and others re-enacted a 1929 air race that began at the Santa Monica airport. In the original air-race, 20 female pilots took off from Santa Monica on August 18, 1929. The re-enactment was held on August 18, 2019, 90 years to the day after the original race. The twenty competitors in 1929 included Amelia Earhart. "We are happy to report that our reenactment of the First National Women's Air Race in 1929 was a success," wrote Connie Schur in a press...

  • Ambassadors of Reed Park Vow to Clean Up the Park and the Restrooms

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Aug 24, 2019

    Santa Monica Downtown Ambassadors vow that they will clean up Santa Monica's parks, one by one. They are already present by the bathrooms in Reed Park and Tongva Park. We spoke to George Caragea, the General Manager of the Ambassadors in Reed Park Thursday morning. He says they arrive at 7 am and are sometimes there as late as 9 pm. The Ambassador program is ten years old, but their familiar umbrellas and kiosks have been parked near the bathrooms at Reed Park since August 1....

  • Protest at Santa Monica Pier Against Thirty Meter Telescope Planned for Mauna Kea

    David Ganezer, Observer staff writer|Updated Aug 17, 2019

    What participants described as a spontaneous protest against the University of Hawaii's Thirty Meter Telescope atop the worlds highest mountain, Mauna Kea, reached the Santa Monica Pier Sunday morning. "Why are people rallying against TMT?" Reads a flyer passed out by the protesters "University of Hawaii's decades of poor management of Hawaii's natural resources and prioritizing economic interests ahead of community interests, has resulted in a large opposition to TMT." The...

  • Local Starbucks Remodels Seem Aimed at Efficiency More than Comfort. Why is that?

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Aug 17, 2019

    Is Starbucks deliberately remodeling its local coffee bars to make them less friendly to homeless people? Some on social media think so. They have noticed that the doorways to Starbucks new doublewide store on 7th and Montana Avenue, features just one entrance. What were they thinking? To better regulate who comes and goes, perhaps? The Starbucks in Ocean Park at Main Street and Hill features plenty of wood seating. The plush chairs that you can sit at all day, have been repla...

  • Santa Monica's $39.5 billion in Assessed Real Estate Values Places in Third Among LA County Cities

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jul 20, 2019

    According to the assessment roll from the LA County Assessor, Santa Monica's 25,000 or so assessor's parcels are collectively worth $39.5 billion. This places Santa Monica 3rd in the County of Los Angeles for property values, which is totally impressive when you consider the relative populations of the top 3 cities. Los Angeles, which has a population of 4 million, has $652.9 billion in real estate. Long Beach, with a population of 600,000, has $60.2 billion in assessed real...

  • Independence Day Earthquake Felt Throughout Westside, 6.4 preliminary measurement

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jul 11, 2019

    An earthquake at 10:33 am PST on July 4 was felt from Santa Barbara to San Diego, and as far East as Las Vegas. The temblor went on for over a minute. It was felt throughout the Westside of Los Angeles County as a powerful rolling motion. The quake was centered 12 KM southwest of Searles Valley California. It registered a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale, ranking it as probably the biggest southland shock in 20 years, since the 1999 Hector Mines Earthquake...

  • Super Expensive Proper Hotel to Open June 20th at 7th and Wilshire Blvd

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jul 4, 2019

    The Santa Monica Proper Hotel says it will open June 20th. The new hotel wraps around the Santa Monica Professional Building at 710 Wilshire Boulevard. The landmark Professional Building built in 1928 was originally designed as a medical building and converted into commercial office space in the 1950s. It has been assimilated into the larger, new hotel building which occupies it's former parking lot. The complex includes at least 3 expensive restaurants and an Ayurvedic spa...

  • DoorDash, Postmates and Uber Eats Have Emptied Local Restaurants, some staff say

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jul 4, 2019

    Yogi Berra reportedly once said about a particular New York restaurant, "no one goes there anymore. You can never get a seat it's so crowded." The opposite is apparently true at some local eateries: the culprit Karen: DoorDash, Postmates, Uber eats and the like. Such delivery services may add $5 or $10 to the cost of a meal. But using them means that diners don't have to wait in line, or drive to the restaurant at all. As a consequence, Juan at Izzy's Deli on Wilshire reports...

  • Shake Shack In, Panera Bread, FedEx/Kinko's Out

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jun 17, 2019

    East Coast burger-meisters Shake Shack will open a Santa Monica location in the former Panera Bread location at 5th Street and Wilshire Blvd, which is a sigh of relief. At least in this location, Santa Monica will not densify. However, the FedEx open for 24 hours at Sixth Street and Wilshire Blvd, will close forever on September 4th. It will then be demolished for super expensive, ultra luxurious apartments built by NMS. NMS will construct 40 apartments in a four story mixed...

  • Ann Whitley Receives Award for Excellence at Roosevelt Elementary School, as she retires after 31 years.

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jun 9, 2019

    Ann Whitley taught at Roosevelt Elementary School starting 31 years ago, in 1988. This year, she retired. During that time, she team taught with several other teachers, including Angie Snow, Megan Cuevas, Martha Simmons and Carolyn Edwards. At a PTA meeting Tuesday at Roosevelt Elementary School, Ms. Whitley was presented with an Award for Excellence by the current Principal of Roosevelt, Lynda Holeva. "The team teaching we did was a departmentalized partnership where each...

  • Santa Monica Recycling Center Closes Due to National Recycling Crisis Caused by China's New Policy

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jun 9, 2019

    The City of Santa Monica has announced that the Recycling Center located on Michigan Avenue, has closed. The announcement was made on the City's website. https://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/Public_Works/Solid_Waste/Recycling%20Center%20Flyer%20060319(1).pdf "The Santa Monica Community Recycling Center, commonly known as the Buyback Center, will close effective June 15, 2019, until further notice. The City is in the process of identifying an option to work with a...

  • Roofer or Welder Starts Fire at Notre Dame de Paris, Building Seems Intact, but Heavily Damages

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Apr 22, 2019
    2

    A fire linked to renovation work of the 870 year old Catholic cathedral, broke out after a welder applied a blowtorch to lead paneling sitting on dry wood. "Repairs to the lead roof required welding lead sheets which rested on dry, well-seasoned timber, much of it porous or powdery with age. This is a particularly risky process for historic buildings." Wikipedia, quoting Le Perisien "Renovation works often cause fires, and it is suspected that the Notre-Dame fire may have...

  • Santa Monica High School Choir Performed at Notre Dame de Paris 3 Days Before Fire

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Apr 19, 2019

    4/15/2019: Santa Monica High School Choir performed at Notre Dame de Paris on Friday April 12, 2019, just 60 hours before a great fire that heavily damaged the cathedral. They may have been the last musical group to perform at the 870 year old cathedral, prior to the fire. “Santa Monica High School’s advanced choirs returned today from a concert tour of France, and were shocked to hear about the fire in Notre Dame,” reads the SamoHI Facebook page. “We will always remembe...

  • Downed Power Lines After Transformer Sparks Out at 11th Street and Idaho Ave in Santa Monica

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Apr 16, 2019

    4/14/2019: Idaho Avenue was closed and high voltage power lines lay on the ground in one Santa Monica neighborhood. The explosion and power outage began just before 10 am PST. "I saw flames bouncing around!" said one local resident. "I can see wires hanging down from the power poles. The white box near the tree has major sparks flying from it." Our witness counted two loud explosions and a large electrical wire came falling down with sparks flying. The Santa Monica Fire Depart...

  • Over 15,000 runners complete the 2019 Los Angeles marathon

    David Ganezer, Observer staff writer|Updated Mar 27, 2019

    1,000 runners completed the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday morning March 24, 2019. Security was tight and spectators were not allowed within one block of the finish line, probably to avoid a repeat of the Boston marathon 10 years ago where Chechen terrorists blew up a bomb, killing five and injuring 17. The LA Marathon will wend it's way to the finish line at Ocean Avenue and the California Incline Sunday morning, March 24th. The starting pistol is at 7 am, so runners should...

  • LA Marathon Runs to the Sea Sunday Morning, March 24 2019

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Mar 24, 2019

    The LA Marathon will wend it's way to the finish line at Ocean Avenue and the California Incline Sunday morning, March 24th. The starting pistol is at 7 am, so runners should start cross the line about 2 hours and ten minutes later. Those in wheelchairs and other very special athletes, will be crossing the line for the following several hours. If you don't love runners, sweat, dogs and marathons, avoid California and Ocean Ave Sunday until about 4 pm. For those who are not run...

  • SamoHi Wins LA Regional Science Bowl, Defeating UniHi and Arcadia High at JPL

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Mar 3, 2019

    This Saturday February 23, 2019 Santa Monica High Schools Ocean Science Bowl Team won the 20th Annual Los Angeles Regional Competition at JPL in Pasadena. "Team members included Ireland Neville, Ryan Chien, Teddy Berger, Derek Wen, Donny Sanders, and coach Ingo Gaida. The competition consists of 4 player teams answering questions based in marine biology, physical oceanography, marine geology, and marine policy/ chemistry related topics," said Chien. "The game is in multiple ch...

  • Video: #Geyser on #PCH as Truck Shears Fire Hydrant Early Wednesday Morning in Santa Monica

    David Ganezer, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Feb 14, 2019

    Pacific coast highway was closed in both directions in Santa Monica on Wednesday morning. Traffic accident just south of the California incline and caused a 200 foot Kaiser to appear above Palisades Park. City of Santa Monica Crews secured the water leak at 6:38 AM. The 10 freeway remained closed at 4th Street, and PCH remained closed southbound at the California incline. Traffic was backed up for miles in both directions into Santa Monica. News helicopters awoke residents...

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