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THURSDAY 12/5/24
Volume 24 Issue 15
This innovative indoor batting pop-up could be a big hit SCOTT SNOWDEN SMDP Staff Writer
Fourth Street, between Arizona Ave and Santa Monica Blvd is rapidly becoming Santa Monica’s unofficial Sports Zone, with Road Runner Sports already there, the pickleball and padel ball courts coming to 1318 4th Street and now an innovative pop-up called SportsFest is offering everyone the chance to try their hand at various batting sports in a spacious location, complete with bar. Batfest, a UK-based sports technology firm that utilizes simulator technology to increase the participation of sports, has partnered with a local entrepreneur to create an entertaining and
educational sports experience that allows you to try your hand at baseball, tennis, lacrosse and cricket, all within the same batting lane. “The idea is for us to try to bring these sports to life in a new environment. You traditionally see [these] sports being played on the fields and that’s fine, but a lot of people don’t want to travel to the field and engage there, so we give them a high street outlet to come and engage instead,” said Runish Gudhka, former Kenya international cricketer and now CEO and Co-Founder of BatFast. The site at 1330 4th St was formally the home of Wasteland, a small, stylish local chain known for its curated selection of used
Cyclist ends cross-country trek at Pier DEVAN SIPHER
Special to the Daily Press
It’s not often that New York City and Santa Monica are linked together in the same sentence. But last Saturday, the two were literally linked by Ryo Murata, a 25-yearold from Numazu, Japan, who rode a bicycle nearly 3,000 miles from Times Square to the Santa Monica Pier. Mr. Murata united more than just cities as he crossed the country. His intrepid journey through challenging terrain and pouring rain, brought people together across generational, cultural and political divides as they followed his progress on Instagram (@human_revo). He left New York on September 12 with 1,617 followers on Instagram, but when he arrived in Santa Monica SEE CYCLIST PAGE 8
vintage and modern women’s clothes. And it’s surprisingly big inside, big enough to incorporate four batting nets, pool tables, two bars, group areas and a whole lot of space inbetween. The entrepreneur in this collaboration is Mari Miranda, a former sports industry strategic consultant who was working in professional baseball when she was first introduced to the BatFest concept. She says that everything was aligned for a Santa Monicabased test of concept, which is, in essence, what this is. “We just felt like LA gave us so many different opportunities,” Miranda said, adding, “When we SEE BATTER UP PAGE 11
Photo by Scott Snowden
BATTER UP: The SportsFest facility on Fourth Street is, in essence a showroom for the new tech.
High schools moved on from college for all. Will Trump come through for job training? CAROLYN JONES Special to the Daily Press
Photo Courtesy Ryo Murata CYCLIST: Ryo Murata celebrated his recent cross-country bike ride at the Santa Monica Pier.
In this politically charged era, there’s one thing both parties agree on: the benefits of high school career pathways. With strong bipartisan support, career and technical education programs are poised to be a centerpiece of education policy over the next few years — both federally and in California. That’s good news for students taking agriscience, cabinetry, game design and other hands-on courses that may lead to high-paying careers. Education advocates hail this as a boon for high schools. Students enrolled in career training courses tend to have higher test scores and graduation rates. And business leaders say that strong career education can
Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
EDUCATION: Students learning to weld in a classroom at the Madera
South High School 20-acre farm on April 2, 2024. Welding is one of thousands of career-focused courses in California high schools.
boost a local economy. But there are still many unknowns, and some education experts worry that an expansion of career education will come at the expense of college-
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preparation programs, or lead to a return to “tracking,” in which schools steer certain students — often lowSEE JOB TRAINING PAGE 11
SAMUEL B. MOSES, CPA
(310) 395-9922 100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1800 • Santa Monica 90401