August 22, 2013
Local News & Culture Marina del Rey
Westchester
Free S a n ta M o n i c a
P l aya d e l R e y
P l aya V i s t a
M a r V i s ta
Del Rey
VenicE
Photo by Tish Wood
Record trek for the voiceless
LOVING SENDOFF – Josh Garrett shares a moment with his girlfriend Karen Dawn and pet pit bull Paula before embarking on his epic trek of the Pacific Crest Trail.
SMC professor completes record Pacific Crest Trail hike to raise awareness against animal cruelty By Vince Echavaria When Josh Garrett was at his weakest moments during an epic trek, including a bout of heat stroke that left him debilitated, it was the images of suffering animals that powered him through the pain. After all, standing up for the animals that are sent to factory farms and slaughterhouses was the main reason the 30-year-old decided to take on the grueling Pacific Crest Trail between the California border with Mexico and the Washington border with Canada. Not only would the Pacific Palisades hiker attempt to complete the 2,655-mile-long trail to support the organization Mercy for Animals and try to prove it can be done on a vegan diet, but he was on a mission to finish the journey alone in record time. It was that message that animals’ sacrifice for a food source is unnecessary and the images from videos depicting their treatment, which were “burned” into Garrett’s memory, that gave the Santa Monica College exercise physiology professor the motivation to overcome any challenges he faced along the way. “I knew that no matter how painful it was or how miserable I was at times, that what I
was going through was nothing compared to what animals go through in factory farms and slaughterhouses. I was constantly thinking about that,” said Garrett, an assistant cross country and track and field coach at SMC. In the end, Garrett rose above the obstacles he faced on the long but scenic journey and completed the Pacific Crest Trail Aug. 8 in 59 days, eight hours and 59 minutes, which is believed to be a record for the fastest time by an individual hiker. No official records are kept on how fast the trail has been finished. Just days before Garrett achieved the feat, a female hiker from Washington set the prior PCT record of 61 days and 17 hours. For Garrett, who previously hiked the PCT in 2009, setting the new speed record was more about helping to spread the word about the strength of a vegan diet than it was a personal goal. If it weren’t for his fight on behalf of animals and vegans out there, Garrett doubts that he would’ve been dedicated to conquering the trail as quickly as he did. “I wanted to get the word out that we don’t need to eat meat or animal products in order to be healthy or strong… and I knew that by doing the (Continued on page 9) Photo by Diana Hoffman
Westchester
Homeowners take issue with preferential parking survey questions By Gary Walker Residents living south of Loyola Marymount University are increasingly becoming more vocal about the manner in which a survey conducted by a firm hired by the university is soliciting information on a potential parking district. The university recently hired Sanders Research to conduct door-to-door interviews in order to discern if there is an appetite for a preferential parking district near LMU’s south entrance. University officials have offered to pay for three parking passes and two guests passes per year for those who are willing to consider establishing such a district, including a temporary one. “(A temporary parking district) would give (homeowners) flexibility to decide how restricted it would be, if they choose to establish one,” said LMU Vice President of Administration Lynne Scarboro. “(The Department of Transportation) believes a temporary parking district could be fasttracked.”
Some residents have complained that the questioners neglected to ask whether or not they would like a preferential parking district, and others have said the survey does not include a similar question. The Argonaut obtained a copy of the survey that LMU is conducting and question number 12 reads: “Would you support the creation of permit/ restricted parking on your street?” There are boxes where homeowners can check yes or no. The survey also includes, among other things, questions on how late any potential restrictions on parking should last, what times residents feel are the most difficult to find parking, to whom do they attribute the neighborhood’s parking deficiencies and if a one-year preferential parking pilot program would be useful. Preferential parking districts can be created when two-thirds of households of a block vote in favor of the parking zone. Petitions to the Los (Continued on page 11)
Page 32 The 29th annual Jet to Jetty 5K/10K run/walk, benefiting the Airport Marina Counseling Service in Westchester, will take place Saturday, Aug. 24 at Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey.