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OCEAN AVENUE — A coalition of 13 churches will open a truncated version of their annual holiday display Sunday with an impassioned plea to City Hall to restore 11 pieces of prize real estate that were snatched up by a group of activist atheists. An organization called Save Our Nativity Scenes, or SONS, requested that churches ring bells at 3 p.m. Dec. 11 to signal the start of a ceremony that will end in a flashlight vigil, urging city officials to reserve space specifically for the booths....

From the PREVIOUS thread:Strong opening weekend fuels film’s expansion to Tucson, AZ, West Palm, FL, Milwaukee, WI, Charlotte, NC, and Ontario, CA-- snip --Santa Monica, Calif. (July 18, 2011) ⎯ ARC Entertainment today announced "The Undefeated," which chronicles Sarah Palin’s rise from obscurity to national prominence, will roll out to additional AMC Theatres (AMC) beginning on Friday, July 22nd. -- snip -- This coming Friday the film will play in the following AMC theatres:-- snip -- Ontario Mills 30 - - 4549 Mills Circle, Ontario, CA  91764 And from www.movietickets.com, the show times are:Friday, July 22 -- 11:10am, 1:55pm, 4:50pm,...

Legendary Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger, who has been on the run for more than a decade, was arrested Wednesday in Santa Monica, multiple law enforcement sources told The Times. Bulger, 81, has been the subject of several books and was the inspiration for "The Departed," a 2006 Martin Scorsese film staring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson. Bulger fled Boston in late 1994 as federal agents were about to arrest him in connection with 21 killings, racketeering and other crimes that spanned the early 1970s to the mid-1980s. He was arrested by the FBI inside a building...

Fugitive on run for 16 years wanted in 19 murders, inspired film 'The Departed' LOS ANGELES — James "Whitey" Bulger, a notorious Boston gangster on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list for his alleged role in 19 murders, has been captured near Los Angeles after living on the run for 16 years, authorities said Wednesday. The FBI tweeted his capture along with his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, early Wednesday morning. Santa Monica Police Sgt. Rudy Flores said the agency informed him of the arrest. Bulger, 81, was the leader of the Winter Hill Gang when he fled in January 1995 after...

[snip] Before Thursday's vote, commission staff reports twice recommended the project be rejected, saying it would disturb sensitive habitat and scar a scenic hilltop visible from much of the Malibu coast. Staff members also had expressed concern that the 156-acre development, if approved, could have paved the way for other earth-altering housing projects throughout the Santa Monica Mountains. Evans' house is planned as a 12,785-square-foot contemporary abode, called "Leaves in the Wind," so named for the undulating green roof meant to emulate fluttering leaves. A website explains that the five houses were designed to meet the highest environmental standards by...

Last week I posted on a clearly antisemitic piece of legislation in San Francisco and Santa Monica banning the Jewish religious tradition of circumcision. Judenrein in Sunny Southern California: Banning Male Circumcision. America, this is getting very, very ugly. Male circumcision is significantly healthier with or without the important religious significance. The Islamic practice of female genital mutilation (cutting off the clitoris) is sick misogyny. To equate the two is officially legislating Jew-hatred. Any doubt this was motivated by hatred and racism? Zombie over at PJM: Proof that S.F.’s circumcision ban is anti-Semitic As you may have heard by now,...

SMO — City Manager Rod Gould has denied two applications for new flight schools at Santa Monica Airport, citing the "particularly intense environmental impacts" the schools would have had. The move went against a recommendation from Airport Director Bob Trimborn but was in keeping with guidance from the Airport Commission, which last month voted 3-1, with one abstention, to urge denial of the applications. The schools, the Flight Academy and Angel City Flyers, had sought to operate a maximum of three airplanes for flight instruction. The Flight Academy, which is based in Washington state, had applied to operate one plane,...

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KABC) -- Santa Monica started enforcing its new smoking ban law, making it illegal for some residents to smoke on their own balconies or patios. Starting Thursday, residents who live in an apartment or condo can't light up out on their balcony, deck or patio if it is within 25 feet of a neighbor's windows, doors or vents. This new law expands Santa Monica's smoking ban. It's already against the law there to smoke in common areas, such as a walkway or a courtyard. The city wants to protect people living in multi-residential properties from second-hand smoke....

A new policy dictating the selection of prepared food vendors at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market is drawing fire from Main Street merchants who are concerned that there won't be enough preference given to local restaurants.

A former champion surfer, Mary Setterholm suffered sexual abuse and turned to prostitution before finding a new path. Next month, she’ll begin the master’s of divinity program at Columbia University’s Union Theological Seminary. Real life stories of redemption and healing don't get much better than this. How long until Lifetime turns it into a movie? From the Los Angeles Times: It's another beautiful day in paradise and I'm out on the ocean, riding waves with a former national surfing champion and onetime prostitute who's about to join a seminary. Go ahead, try to name one other state where I could...

Staff Half of Panama’s population of children under the age of five is in grave danger of death from malnutrition. The country’s staggering 40 percent poverty rate is one of the worst in Central America. The late Wilson Lucom reportedly left $50 million to a trust intended to aid these starving children according to a secret will revealed upon his death in 2006. Lucom’s Panamanian wife Hilda and her children from a previous marriage are contesting the will and over two years of legal haggling between the two parties has not resulted in the resolution of the case. So far...

CALIFORNIA AVE. — Santa Monica Police are investigating an alleged hate crime after officials with St. Monica Catholic Church discovered a statue of the Virgin Mary beheaded shortly before Easter services commenced. A priest found the 55-year-old marble statue, which stands on the corner of Seventh Street and California Avenue, decapitated around 5:45 a.m. on Sunday, spotting the head on the ground just a few feet away. The top of the statue was covered with a white plastic bag before service began. “Even though it was a sad event, it didn’t take away from the joy of Easter and celebrating...

Property owner Robert Kronovet is celebrating a late campaign victory after scoring a come-from-behind win in a tight [Santa Monica] Rent Control Board race. . . . The Republican and property manager becomes the first candidate to win a seat on the Rent Control Board without the political backing of Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights, an influential organization whose endorsees won every other race in the election. “We think we’re going to be able to work and reshape the Rent Control Board,” Kronovet, 51, said. “It’s going to be wonderful for this city to see a higher functioning Rent Control...

Yesterday we started the day bright and early with a stop at KIIS-FM in LA for an interview with Ryan Seacrest. It was so much fun to be on his radio show! I'll have more pics to post later on my interviews with Jay Leno and Carson Daly.

I was at the Sherman Oaks Library yesterday and picked up a copy of the Change Links Calendar, the "Independent Progressive Newspaper and Community Calendar" with the other local throw away papers for kicks and to see what the left is up to. These people make the DemO-Rats in congress and the rest of the MSM look like conservatives. Now to the point: For those of you who are interested (I wouldn't suggest going alone) Sunday August 10 they are having a Progressive Picnic apparently open to all at Santa Monica Clover Park. Some of you might want to have...

A city ordinance that went into effect on Thursday that bars some private jets from using Santa Monica Airport would be grounded under a temporary restraining order sought by federal officials. Citing "a clear possibility of irreparable harm," attorneys for the U.S. government filed an application for a temporary restraining order ... Concerned about safety and noise, the Santa Monica City Council approved an ordinance in November that bars jets with approach speeds of greater than 136 mph, including aircraft popular among business executives. The FAA earlier served the city with a cease-and-desist order challenging the ordinance, contending the city...

Excerpt - Just before Lindsay Lohan was arrested early Tuesday morning, she commandeered a car and took three men hostage -- this, according to the three men who were in the car with her. ~ snip ~ They say at one point, Lindsay boasted, "I can't get in trouble. I'm a celebrity. I can do whatever the f**k I want." ~ snip ~

LOS ANGELES — An elderly man who killed 10 people and injured more than 70 others when he drove through an outdoor farmers market was sentenced Monday to probation by a judge who said he believed the crime deserved imprisonment but the defendant was too ill.

AltCar Expo Set for December 9-10 in Santa Monica Santa Monica, California, September 21, 2006 – The City of Santa Monica announced today it will sponsor and host the most comprehensive, technologically advanced exposition of alternative fuel and high MPG vehicles ever held. AltCar Expo, specifically designed for the public, will take place on December 9 and 10, 2006. Admission to the Expo, as well as a wide-ranging selection of seminars and advanced technology displays, will be free. The event will be held at Barker Hangar, located at the Santa Monica Air Center. Over 100 alternative fuel and high MPG...

The elderly driver who ran down and killed 10 people in an open air market in Santa Monica was convicted today of all criminal charges, decisively denying defense pleas for mercy. The verdict leaves to a judge the task of deciding whether George Russell Weller, 89, goes to prison for as long as 18 years. Weller will appeal the decision, defense attorney Mark Overland said. By their unanimous verdict, jurors rejected arguments that the aged driver made a mistake and found him guilty on 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for killing 10 people. He injured 68 others...