INSIDE SCOOP EDITORIAL FOOD BURN AREAS WITHSTAND STORM PAGE 3 IT COULD BE WORSE PAGE 4 PEPPERS A HOT HOLIDAY GIFT PAGE 7 Visit us online at smdp.com THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2008 Volume 7 Issue 323 Santa Monica Daily Press HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Since 2001: A news odyssey THE ALL ABOUT FAMILY ISSUE Locally-produced water on the way BY MELODY HANATANI The project involves two components — It was a dozen years ago that five wells in sented by City Hall and the oil companies to Daily Press Staff Writer the construction of a new water treatment the Charnock Field were taken out of com- coordinate the construction of a new treat- system at the Charnock Well Field on mission after officials discovered MTBE ment facility. The second settlement three CITY HALL Water from long dormant local Westminster Avenue and improvements to contamination from leaking underground years later handed over sole oversight of the wells contaminated with a gasoline additive the Santa Monica Water Treatment Plant gasoline storage tanks owned by several oil restoration project to City Hall. could soon be flowing once again from (SMWTP), which is used to soften, disinfect companies, including Shell, Chevron-Texaco The project in its original version Santa Monica faucets. and fluoridate the water. Both facilities are and Exxon Mobil. Several settlements bene- received resistance from residents in the Mar The City Council on Tuesday celebrated located outside of city limits with the fiting City Hall followed over the next Vista-Palms-Del Rey neighborhoods for its what was deemed a momentous occasion, SMWTP located off the corner of Bundy decade, including $120 million from the oil aesthetics, which they felt was out of charac- approving a proposed project to install a Drive and Wilshire Boulevard. The plant is companies in 2003 and another $131 million ter with the area, and noise impacts from the new groundwater treatment plant at the expected to be operational by 2010. in 2006. facility. A new design has since been present- Charnock Field, hoping to finally bring local “It really is a milestone in cleaning up our The first settlement included terms that ed, decreasing the number of Granular sources back into the public drinking water water and becoming self-sufficient,” Mayor called for the formation of a Charnock system. Pro Tem Richard Bloom said. Engineering Committee that was co-repre- SEE WATER PAGE 11 Horrors at the holiday dinner table BY ROB LAWRENCE Special to the Daily Press THE DINNER TABLE Miles Mayhew is dread- ing his yearly obligation — visiting his rela- tives in Santa Cruz. “I always end up arguing about politics with my parents,” said Mayhew, 29, whose folks were staunch John McCain supporters, while he was an Barack Obama backer. “Since the election just happened I know it’s going to be rough.” With the holidays here, many American’s may be finding themselves in the midst of a ticking time bomb, and all it takes is one simple question to set it off. When are you getting married? Did you find a job yet? Why can’t you find a nice girl like your brother? For author Deborah Fine, that unsettling question is, “Deborah, do you prefer Cool Whip, or is it that you don’t know how to make whipped cream?” Whatever the trigger may be, it seems that family gatherings are times when conversa- tions can become uncomfortable or tense. Avoiding awkward silences during holiday meals can be as easy as rephrasing a ques- tion. “We say things to our family that we SPIRIT OF GIVING Brandon Wise [email protected] would never say to people in the outside Volunteers at St. Monica Catholic Church serve Thanksgiving dinners and pies Wednesday afternoon to men and women who are without the means to make their own holiday meals. The church has been serving a Thanksgiving meal to the community for over 20 years. SEE DINNER PAGE 10 COME IN FOR IZZY'S DELICIOUS PIANO & GUITAR LESSONS GABY SCHKUD DAILY DINNER SPECIALS! Y ONL $15.00 (310) 45 MINUTE CLASSES 586-0308 1433 Wilshire Boulevard, Sign-up NOW! at 15th Street (310) 453-1928 EXPERIENCE DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE! 310-394-1131 OPEN 24 HOURS www.22ndstreethome.com www.santamonicamusic.com 1901 Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica Calendar Exclusively at Readers Fine Jewelers 2 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2008 A newspaper with issues superior craftsmanship contemporary design Have a Happy Thanksgiving! custom design Friday, Nov. 28, 2008 ‘It’s a Pretty Good Life’ 1130 Lincoln Blvd., 8 p.m. Overtone Industries reprises its original play, “It’s a Pretty Shop where they know your name Good Life,” for the holiday season. Join them tonight for the Visit us today and see the difference family makes. benefit Gala Sneak Performance. Tickets are $100, and regu- Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm larly $25. For reservations and information, please call 331 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica 2 Hours Free Parking (Behind Store) (323)655-2410 or reserve online at www.overtoneindustries.org. Eddie Guerboian 310.451.1349 • www.readersjewelers.com GOLDSMITH DESIGNER Hot salsa Fridays 1334 Lincoln Blvd., 7:15 — 10 p.m. Join Isabelle and Reiko at Isabelle’s Salsa, Tango, Pole Dance Academy for dancing and socializing. Classes are available for all levels, and there’s a social hour after each class. The evening costs $20. Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008 ‘Alice and the Wonderful Tea Part’ 1211 Fourth St., 12:30 and 3 p.m. Audience participation helps Alice set a topsy-turvy Wonderland aright in this zany musical comedy for kids ages 2 to 102, presented by internationally renowned actors at the Santa Monica Playhouse. The pun-derful play runs through Nov. 30. Birthday and tea parties are available. Tickets are $10.50 for kids; $12.50 for adults. Call (310) 294-9779 ext. 2 or visit www.SantaMonicaPlayhouse.com for more information. Westside Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’ 24255 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. For 36 years, audiences have thrilled to Westside Ballet’s annual production of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” show- casing the most promising young dancers in Los Angeles. The popular ballet tells the story of Clara, a girl who receives a nutcracker for Christmas and is transported to a magical world of sugarplum fairies and villainous mice. For tickets, call (310) 828-6211 or visit www.westsideballet.com. This event takes place at Pepperdine’s Smothers Theater. Celtic Thunder 777 Chick Hearn CT, Los Angeles, 8 — 9:30 p.m. Watch five young male vocalists showcase powerful ballads, popular hits and heartwarming songs of love and loss from across the Celtic music spectrum — Irish, Scottish, traditional and contemporary. The singers will be accompanied by The Celtic Concert Orchestra, a full band, bagpipes and monks. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com. This event takes place at the Nokia Theatre. For more information on any of the events listed, log on to smdp.com and click the “Events” tab for the given day’s calendar. Inside Scoop Visit us online at smdp.com THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2008 3 What are you thankful for? Photos by Rachel Dardashti MARLENE HODGSON JOEY GAETA “I’m thankful for my job, my “I’m thankful for having an Fabian Lewkowicz FabianLewkowicz.com boss, and my health.” older brother looking over STRUGGLING TO STAY DRY: Two women use newspaper to take cover from the rain on Wednesday afternoon. me.” Storm does little damage BY GILLIAN FLACCUS pared for the arrival of their 20 chil- rain fell at nearly an inch per hour at Associated Press Writer dren, grandchildren and great-grand- one point early Wednesday, and the children for the holiday. storm snarled traffic during the SANTA ANA Weary residents ordered to “I feel like I’m extremely blessed,” Thanksgiving travel rush. evacuate during heavy overnight rains Cluff said. “When you’ve lived here as Flooding closed northbound returned home Wednesday as the long as we’ve lived here, that makes it Interstate 5 in San Diego for several threat of mudslides and flash flooding very difficult to get turned out or hours after at least two vehicles in Southern California’s wildfire burn flooded out.” crashed. areas eased on the eve of Thanksgiving. The first big Pacific storm of the In Yorba Linda, where nearly 120 All 1,500 people ordered to leave season came ashore Tuesday, and on homes burned less than two weeks ago, their homes in the Orange County city Wednesday it was still occasionally an unofficial weather station measured of Yorba Linda were allowed back in dropping rain heavy enough to trigger nearly 2 inches of rain, said Noel Isla, and no major flooding was reported in scattered flash flood warnings, but the an NWS meteorologist. the hilly suburban communities that region largely appeared to have avoided More than an inch of rain fell in burned so dramatically earlier this serious damage. some mountain areas of northern ANNATTE WITHAM ICE GABRIEL month. There were scattered reports of Santa Barbara County, while just under “I’m thankful that we are “I’m thankful for my son.” Northwest of Los Angeles, Santa small rock slides in Santa Barbara an inch fell in southern parts of the living in a free country. I Barbara County officials lifted evacua- County, a slipping hillside in southern county, said Bill Hoffer, an NWS read a book about tion orders for residents of about 2,200 Orange County and a small mud flow spokesman. Afghanistan and it’s really homes. Many had fled their homes for in a canyon that burned last fall — but Without significant damage, the wet bad there.