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TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014
Volume 13 Issue 122
Santa Monica Daily Press
DEFENDING TAXES SEE PAGE 4
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THE MOVING FORWARD ISSUE
Students arrested after fight with teacher BY DAVID MARK SIMPSON Daily Press Staff Writer
SAMOHI A pair of Santa Monica High School students have been arrested following a fight with a teacher on Friday. An 18-year-old male was arrested for alleged possession of pot and a box cutter,
according to the Santa Monica Police Department. Police are seeking charges for possession of a weapon on campus, possession of marijuana on school grounds, battery against a school employee, and threatening a school official. He is due in court Tuesday. Though he is an adult, police would not
identify the 18-year-old because he is a student. According to SMPD calls for service reports, police responded to a battery call in the 600 block of Pico Boulevard, where Samohi is located, at 9:19 a.m. on Friday. According to SMPD booking reports, an 18year-old named Blair Moore was arrested as a result of the incident.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff booking information, Moore will be arraigned on Tuesday. A 16-year-old male was also arrested in the case. SMPD is seeking battery charges against him as well. SEE SAMOHI PAGE 7
California prisons find 1 in 4 inmates used illicit drugs DON THOMPSON Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. Nearly a quarter of
Her MoveOn.org petition has since garnered 239 signatures. The only consistently occurring pony rides in the city are run by Tawni’s Ponies at the Main Street Farmers’ Market. Owner Tawni Angel formed a response petition
inmates tested in a screening last year in California had used one or more illegal substances, leading state prison officials to propose increasing penalties for drug and alcohol use. Under the recommendation, a first positive test for drug use would cost inmates 90 days’ pay from work assignments, and repeat offenses could mean up to a year of lost wages. However, inmates are paid only pennies an hour, prompting an official with the guards’ union to question the proposed regulations on Monday. The department also plans to standardize mandatory drug testing across prisons. While making its proposal, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said there were more than 4,000 drug-related prison incidents last year. More stringent penalties for drug use would increase prison safety and help inmates complete substance abuse treatment programs, the agency said. “We recognize a problem with the use of drugs in our population, and the culture that it creates, and we must act to prevent the introduction of narcotics while providing treatment to those who are addicted,” department spokeswoman Kristina Khokhobashvili said in an email. Nearly 23 percent of inmates tested positive for one or more illegal drugs during the screening in June of a quarter of the inmate
SEE RIDES PAGE 8
SEE DRUGS PAGE 9
Paul Alvarez Jr. editor@smdp.com
NO WAY: A woman protests against the pony rides and petting zoo at the Farmers’ Market on Main Street on Sunday morning.
Pony ride backers are striking back BY DAVID MARK SIMPSON Daily Press Staff Writer
FARMERS’ MARKET Pony ride advocates are bringing in the cavalry. An online petition to ban pony rides and petting zoos in Santa Monica has fewer signatures than an online petition
formed in response. Last week, resident and former congressional candidate Marcy Winograd announced her plans to squash the pony rides, calling them cruel and inhumane. Winograd said that forcing the ponies to walk in circles for hours is made worse by the fact that children are encouraged to participate. Matzoh Balls, Chicken Soup, Brisket, Chicken, and so much more!
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