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Volume 8 Issue 243
Santa Monica Daily Press ANOTHER RECORD FOR BOLT SEE PAGE 17
We have you covered
THE BLAZING FAST ISSUE
Two decades of un-development
COMMUNITYPROFILES EMMALIE HODGIN
BY EMMA TROTTER Special to the Daily Press
of CalFire said late Saturday. The fire was about 40 percent contained, he added. Meanwhile, a separate fire in Yuba County north of Sacramento tripled in size Saturday to more than 6 square miles as the flames jumped the north Yuba River and began burning in Nevada County, according to CalFire spokeswoman Joann Cartoscelli. It was about 15 percent contained Saturday. Schwarzenegger said the Lockheed Fire was among 11 burning up and down the coast in the state. Other blazes have forced evacuations and knocked out power, and smoke and ash from the growing wildfire in Santa Barbara County whirled into the Los
SUNSET PARK Emmalie Hodgin calls traffic “a cancer in Santa Monica,” and on busy cutthrough thoroughfare 23rd Street she might just have a point. Twenty years ago, further development projects — a mini-mall, in particular — motivated Emmalie and about 10 other neighborhood residents to form the Friends of Sunset Park. At the time, Emmalie and her husband Charles — Chuck, she calls him — had lived in area for over 30 years. “This was a sleepy little suburb,” she said of the neighborhood in 1952. At that time, she continued, there were no problems with traffic, the city attracted few tourists and tuition at SMC was only $3 each semester. When they saw this paradise slipping away, residents took the fight to City Hall. “We fought ‘em hard, but we just got no place,” Emmalie said. “They made all kinds of offers they knew we couldn’t accept.” The issue became so controversial that meetings at City Hall were broadcast by loudspeaker onto the streets, and later moved to a Douglas hangar to accommodate all interested citizens. Ultimately, the Friends of Sunset Park brought the mini-mall project down — along with a few city officials. “They were going on the assumption that the little people don’t know crap,” Emmalie said, pausing for effect before describing how she learned to fight back from her father growing up in Louisiana. “He said, ‘Look what they’re doing when you’re fighting them, and think what they’d be doing if you weren’t.’” Over the years, Emmalie said, the organization’s goals have shifted. They still fight development — trying to stop Santa Monica from becoming “Manhattan” — but now they work with City Hall instead of against them, together facing ongoing issues with SMC and the airport. As for the everyday operations of the organization, the board holds open meetings once a month and operates on simple majority rule. “There’s always time to hear everyone’s opin-
SEE FIRES PAGE 12
SEE CP PAGE 12
Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com HODGIN
Fire crews battle through rough terrain JARED GRIGSBY Associated Press Writer
DAVENPORT, Calif. California residents are being urged to follow orders to leave their homes as crews struggled to control nearly a dozen wildfires burning in areas with inaccessible terrain. “These fires will be different than most of the fires because of the terrain,” California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Saturday during a tour of the Lockheed Fire zone. “It’s very hard to get equipment in there and the resources in there. That’s why you see a lot of helicopters and fixed winged aircraft being used.” The fire has blackened more than 10 square miles of remote wilderness since
Wednesday and prompted mandatory evacuations of the mountain communities of Swanton and Bonny Doon, which have about 2,400 residents and several wineries. Lt. Gov. John Garamendi declared a state of emergency Friday for Santa Cruz County. The blaze damaged two small structures and was threatening more than 1,000 homes and buildings. No homes were destroyed, but Schwarzenegger said 25 firefighters had been injured. The extent of their injuries wasn’t immediately known. “We pray that they heal as quickly as possible,” Schwarzenegger said. More crews have arrived to help with the blaze, which currently was being held back by a total of 2,000 firefighters, Nadim Yehia
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