S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
March 03 - March 09, 2023 Volume CLXXXII, Issue 185
INSIDE Developer to Build Apartments with Retail Near Santa Monica Library PAGE 4
Ceiling Repair at Will Rogers Learning Community May Result in Students Being Moved Work would not begin until after 2025, according to SMMUSD officials By Sam Catanzaro The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District says the ceiling at Will Rogers Learning Community is in need of repair, which could result in students being relocated while the work is being done. According to SMMUSD Chief Operations Officer Carey Upton speaking at a February 16 board meeting, the glue used to secure ceiling tiles at the school has begun to fail over the years, resulting in the tiles falling. The tiles are difficult to reattach and added that the glue is from the 1950s and contains asbestos. While Upton clarified that asbestos poses no immediate danger unless it becomes airborne, he emphasized that there is a real challenge
with it. At some point, SMMUSD will have to take everything off the ceilings, abate them and replace them. “You cannot breathe it unless literally somebody took a hammer and smashed it and made it airborne, so it’s not dangerous or an exposure,” Upton said during the meeting. However, this process will take longer than the 10 weeks of summer vacation offers. As a result, students will have to be relocated while work is being done. Work is not expected to begin until after 2025 when John Muir Elementary/Santa Monica Alternative School House (SMASH) campus is scheduled to reopen and a new building at Will Rogers will be completed that could temporarily offer space for displaced students. According to SMMUSD, across the district, there is between $6-7 million dollars of critical roof reports needed but only $2 million is budgeted for that work. This would be the latest such instance of displacement for SMMUSD students.
Last year almost 150 John Muir Elementary/ SMASH students were transferred to Will Rogers after extensive water issues were uncovered on their campus. Repairs to their campus are expected to cost almost $20 million
and will keep students relocated until January 2025 at the earliest. In total, this school closure forced over 250 students to various schools within the SMMUSD school district.
Iconic Sea Dragon Ride on Santa Monica Pier Set to Retire After 12 Million Rides Ride to close on March 9 after over two decades of thrills By Sam Catanzaro After more than two decades of high-flying thrills, the original Sea Dragon ride on the Santa Monica Pier is set to retire. Pacific Park, the amusement park where it has called home since its opening in 1996, is inviting guests to bid farewell to the iconic ride. Until March 9, the Sea Dragon will be located in the upper pier parking lot adjacent to the east entrance of Pacific Park, open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Guests are encouraged to share their favorite memories and experiences on the swing ride by submitting videos, photos or text at https:// pacpark.com/seadragonmemories. After more than 12 million rides, the attraction holds a special place in many hearts of people from
near and far. “We look forward to sharing the public’s memories of the Sea Dragon with our guests and team members as we celebrate the retirement of the original Sea Dragon ride,” said Nathan Smithson, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier. “The Sea Dragon is an iconic piece of the amusement park ride experience for everyone including the film and music industries and numerous celebrities.” The Sea Dragon has made several appearances in Hollywood films such as “Iron Man” and “Her,” as well as sharing the spotlight with regional Mexican music artists La Séptima Banda. The ride was even featured in a book launch for “Stella Rose and the Sea Dragon.” On March 9 at 8:00 a.m., Pacific Park will host a special retirement send-off for the original Sea Dragon before it makes way for an all-new version of the ride. The swinging ship features two lifelike dragonheads that give
passengers a sense of being caught in turbulent waters. With its 180-degree arc motion and thrilling launches, riders are treated to a series of drops over its 40-foot journey. Weighing in
at 6,000 pounds and measuring over 26 feet long and three feet wide, it is accentuated with two twelve-foot-tall sea dragon heads on each end.