FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2011
Volume 10 Issue 132
Santa Monica Daily Press
THE DONALD FOR PRESIDENT? SEE PAGE 5
We have you covered
THE SHOCKING ISSUE
City gets affordable housing in wake of developer default BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL The City Attorney’s Office brokered a settlement agreement between two private companies caught in the wake of a developer’s default on its commitment to build 52 affordable housing units in Downtown Santa Monica. The JSM Corp., which is responsible for much of the housing Downtown, failed to fulfill affordable housing requirements on 11 market rate projects, city officials said. JSM committed to building the units at two off-site locations. In the wake of the housing market collapse, several properties held by JSM, which SEE HOUSING PAGE 8
Shopping cart in hand worth two in the bush BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
Ray Solano news@smdp.com
TALKING IT OUT: Police gather outside of an apartment complex where a suspect was shot by officers on Wednesday evening.
Cops kill suspect caught stabbing ex-girlfriend BY KEVIN HERRERA
CITYWIDE They’re run into in parking lots, abandoned on street corners and generally abused, but police can’t crack down until offenders are caught in the act. The victims, shopping carts, represent not only a useful tool at the neighborhood grocery store, they’re one significant investment that owners have a hard time protecting from damage or theft. The Santa Monica Police Department actually has a business and professions code specifically for those caught in illicit possession of shopping carts (22435.2 f, if you care), and businesses specializing in cart collection zoom through neighborhoods picking them up for $12 a pop. According to SMPD Sgt. Jaime Hernandez, officers issued 105 citations specifically for shopping cart theft in the last three years, and arrested 58 people in the process. That probably doesn’t cover all of the incidents of theft or possession, Hernandez SEE CARTS PAGE 10
Editor in Chief
SUNSET PARK Santa Monica police shot and killed a homeless man who was attempting to murder his ex-girlfriend, stabbing her repeatedly in the chest with a knife before two officers climbed through an apartment window and fired several
shots, authorities said Wednesday. The victim, a 40-year-old resident of Santa Monica, was rushed to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, said SMPD Lt. Jay Trisler. She was reportedly in stable condition on Thursday. The suspect, identified by police as Frank Walter Johnson, 59, a transiennt, was pronounced dead at the scene, Trisler said.
A motive for the attack is not known at this time. Police are continuing to investigate, Trisler said. The officers fired at least four shots around 6:47 p.m. Wednesday in the 2400 block of Ocean Park Boulevard. That’s where officers said they made contact with SEE SHOOTING PAGE 8
Police probe laser pointer directed at news helicopter BY DAILY PRESS STAFF PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY Santa Monica police are trying to find the person responsible for pointing a laser at a news helicopter Wednesday night. SMPD Lt. Jay Trisler said around 11:15 p.m. a pilot of a KCLA 9 news chopper covering an officer involved shooting in Sunset Park reported seeing a green laser light. The helicopter was hovering above the 2900
block of Pico Boulevard. No one was injured or arrested in the alleged incident, however, Trisler said police are trying to locate the source and have narrowed down the location where it originated from. Trisler said it is a felony to point a laser at an aircraft as lasers can permanently damage a person’s eyesight and even cause blindness. One Daily Press reader last week wrote a letter complaining about the noise created by news helicopters hovering over his
Gary Limjap
home, which is located near the Chabad House synagogue near Broadway and 18th Street. News agencies flocked to the location after an explosion sent a 300-pound piece of concrete and a metal pipe through the roof of a nearby home. Anyone with information regarding the laser incident can contact the SMPD at (310) 458-8599 and ask for the watch commander. news@smdp.com
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