FREE MONDAY, MAY 13, 2002 Volume 1, Issue 156 FREE Santa Monica Daily Press Picked fresh daily. 100% organic news. Santa Monica police has an eye in the sky BY ANDREW H. FIXMER search for a burglar running through a Sunset Park neigh- Daily Press Staff Writer borhood. From the air, the helicopter lit up dark patches of terrain with its high-powered searchlight, called the The Santa Monica Police Department now has an eye “night-sun.” Officers in the air were able to tell officers on in the sky, giving officers an edge in fighting crime. the ground where the holes existed their search perimeter. For more than a month, a helicopter from the Hawthorne Police Department has been regularly patrolling the skies over Santa Monica, assisting local officers on the ground when needed. “An airship gives you a platform to The helicopter patrols are part of a SMPD program dubbed “Operation Prime Time,” which was initially cre- operate. It gives you a way to see from ated to help officers in the field combat a series of gang- the air what officers on the ground are related shootings in a troubled eastside neighborhood. But the helicopter is proving to be more useful than prevented from by buildings.” just finding gang bangers, officials say. The helicopter patrol recently helped SMPD officers — JAMES T. BUTTS JR. Santa Monica Police Chief The helicopter also is equipped with “forward looking infrared,” a thermal imaging camera that can pick up heat sources from the air. The instrument is so sensitive that it can pick up trails of heat left behind by people who recently walked through an area, or cars that still have warm engines. Suspicious vehicles would be then tracked Andrew H. Fixmer/Daily Press The Pico neighborhood, on Santa Monica’s east- through the police department and their license plate side, is patrolled routinely by the Hawthorne Police numbers would be checked. Department’s new helicopter. This isn’t the first time helicopter patrols have been used in Santa Monica. The city 40 years ago had its own ago. After being pulled over for a traffic violation, the helicopter program, but a defect in the aircraft’s design driver and passenger ditched the car and tried to escape on caused it to crash into the Pacific Ocean in the mid-1960s. foot. One of the suspects fired on police officers. Since then the city has had sporadic helicopter patrols It was an officer patrolling by helicopter that located from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office and other one of the suspects as he ran into a nearby apartment complex. The man’s suspicious behavior caught the Andrew H. Fixmer/Daily Press nearby cities. Detective Jim Dixon, a Hawthorne tactical officer, A helicopter from an assisting agency helped nab an See HELICOPTER, page 6 patrols the skies above Santa Monica last Thursday. alleged gang member Dixon operates the helicopter’s surveillance equip- who led police on a chase ment and communicates with Santa Monica police through the Pico neigh- officers on the ground. borhood four months Ovitz deal has Hollywood’s Court orders landlord to eyes on ‘The Firm’ agency BY GARY GENTILE Time Warner itself has seen. Last month, AP Business Writer that company reported the largest quar- terly loss ever for a U.S. firm. pay tenant relocation fee LOS ANGELES — It’s one thing to Ovitz has seen his influence in create the kind of buzz generated by a BY CAROLYN SACKARIASON annual income is less than $24,900. Hollywood wane since 1995, when the high-profile deal, but it’s quite another to powerful talent agent left Creative Daily Press Staff Writer Wagerman, a restaurant waiter, provid- deliver on the promise. ed income tax returns to Santa Monica Artists Agency to become president of A Santa Monica man has been ordered Last year, 37-year-old talent manager The Walt Disney Co. He departed Superior Court Judge John Reid that Jeff Kwatinetz told those around him he to pay $4,300 to his former tenant after he showed he was entitled to the relocation Disney after just 14 stormy months with evicted him, a judge ruled Friday. wanted his growing company, called a multimillion-dollar severance package. money because his income was below the The Firm, to become “the next AOL Giulio Della Rocca claimed Kent He started AMG in 1999. Despite spo- Ellis requirement. Time Warner.” Wagerman was illegally sub-leasing his But what was central to the arguments Last week, he got one step closer to radic success, the company never rent-controlled apartment on 20th Street heard in Friday’s court proceedings was his goal, buying the talent management reached critical mass. and therefore he shouldn’t have to pay whether or not Wagerman illegally portion of Artists Management Group, For now, many in Hollywood are him to move. rented out his one-bedroom apartment to the company Hollywood super agent looking at Kwatinetz as the new kid on Under the state’s Ellis Act, Della another man. Michael Ovitz had hoped would become the block, the giant slayer, the brilliant, Rocca was allowed to evict four tenants Della Rocca said when he was closing a major player, producing movies and brash and ambitious pretender to the when he converted the apartment com- escrow early last year he learned that a television shows featuring Ovitz’s stable throne once occupied by Ovitz. plex into his own home last year. But the different tenant was living in Wagerman’s of actors, writers and directors. The Firm, created in 1997, is still law requires that tenants who fall under But size and reach — even buzz — do rather small compared to other talent rent control be paid a relocation fee if they apartment. Within days of learning the not translate readily into profits, as AOL See FIRM, page 7 are “Ellised” out of the building and their See EVICTION, page 3 CATERING Tea Party for All Occassions TAXES The Culture of Tea High Tea • Mom & Me Tea All forms • All types • All states Ph: (310) 314-0946 SAMUEL B. MOSES, CPA Fax: (310) 314-0917 Chay-Kakoi.com (310) 395-9922 Email: [email protected] 429 Santa Monica Blvd. Ste. 710, Santa Monica 90401 Page 2 ❑ Monday, May 13, 2002 ❑ Santa Monica Daily Press HOROSCOPE Capricorn, tonight hit the gym! JACQUELINE BIGAR'S STARS The stars show the kind of day you'll have: ★★★★★-Dynamic ★★★★-Positive ★★★-Average ★★-So-so ★-Difficult ARIES (March 21-April 19) LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) ★★★★ A reversal, whether in your personal or ★★★★ You might not be seeing a loved one professional life, could set you back. Actually, if clearly. A child, as well, could be pulling the you can distance yourself from your initial disap- wool over your eyes. Knowing this, you might be pointment, you realize that this information need- able to read through the haze around this person. ed to come out. Regroup, and you’ll be OK. Directly speak your mind to those around you. Don’t worry. Tonight: Discuss recent events. Use your creativity. Tonight: Play away. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) ★★★ Confusion with a boss or at work could ★★★ You’re coming from a point of confusion. have an unusual impact. You might see this per- What might be revealed could be critical in the son reveal a whole different side of him- or her- long term. Don’t hide from the inevitable. Think self, which could take you back. Keep your mind in terms of greater achievement and direction on the job and/or what you must accomplish. through the help of a partner. Together you make SSantaanta MonicaMonica DailyDaily Press Press Tonight: Burn the midnight oil. quite the team. Tonight: Say “yes.” GEMINI (May 21-June 20) SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) ★★★★ News or gossip could set you back, but ★★★★ What you discover might be more Has a new ‘E-dition!’ until information is proven, it’s not a fact. Loosen important than you realize. If you hit a snafu up and worry less about what is happening here. involving a car, you need to think in terms of Home delivery by E-mail Express yourself in your unique style. Someone growth and change. Fix anything that might be in responds as you could only wish. Tonight: Keep disrepair in your immediate environment. Make on smiling. an important call. Tonight: Out. CANCER (June 21-July 22) CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Check the day’s headlines, news stories, ★★★ Deal with finances directly, or you could ★★★ Push hard to complete certain key tasks at find yourself in deep trouble. Loosen up some work. If you believe a financial matter could be classifieds, comics, horoscopes and ads and think through your issues, especially those slippery or off, it probably is. Use your good involving trust and a mutual partnership. Step sense, both financially and emotionally. all before you leave the house! back and do some hard-core thinking. Tonight: Carefully consider options involving work, funds Get some extra zzz’s. and a co-worker. Tonight: Off to the gym. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) ★★★★★ Listen to a friend, especially if you ★★★★★ What might be a reversal actually need feedback about a key associate. This person could prove otherwise. Just deal with a problem might be behaving in an odd, unpredictable man- head-on. You could be pleased with the end ner. Stay centered and take your time making a results. You inspire someone, but don’t think it is critical decision.