FR EE
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2004
Volume 3, Issue 60
Santa Monica Daily Press A newspaper with issues
L O T T O
Symptoms of nursing shortage recognized by local hospitals
Lights go out on Winterlit
FANTASY 5 26, 19, 39, 28, 3 DAILY 3 Afternoon picks: 4, 7, 4 Evening picks: 3, 9, 0
DAILY DERBY 1st Place: 11, Money Bags 2nd Place: 2, Lucky Star 3rd Place: 4, Big Ben Race Time: 1:43.54
BY CAROLYN SACKARIASON Daily Press Staff Writer
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by Chuck Shepard
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?” — Woody Allen
INDEX Horoscopes Bust that stress,Virgo . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Local Going black in Feburary . . . . . . . . .3
Opinion Free us from religion . . . . . . . . . . . .4
State Media circles the wagons . . . . . . . .7
Real Estate The value of second homes . . . . .10
National Thoughts on state of the union . . .14
People Sizzle is gone for sausage man . . .20
Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press
Fernando Medina (front) and Miguel Garcia remove the holiday fiberglass ice sculptures from the Promenade on Tuesday, marking the end of yet another season.
See NURSES, page 6
Jury to decide if landlord should pay for break-in At issue is whether apartment building was secure enough BY JOHN WOOD Daily Press Staff Writer
SM COURTHOUSE — A jury here is now set to decide whether a landlord should pay millions of dollars to tenants who were victims of a violent break-in at a seaside apartment more than three years ago. Deliberations in the case against landlord Marvin Engineering Co. Inc. are expected to begin today. The company is accused of allegedly failing to protect two tenants, whose luxury apartment was stormed by four gunmen in August of 2000. Lawyers on Tuesday said Oliver Starr, 36, a fitness specialist and sales consultant, and his exgirlfriend, Julien Serrano, should be paid in excess of $1.5 million. Both were bound and beaten by the gunmen, who also threatened
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to rape Serrano, stole her jewelry and demanded $30,000 in cash from Starr. The gunmen, who were never caught, apparently had the wrong apartment. They were looking for drug money from a man named “Matt,” who lived in a different unit in the same building at 17351 Sunset Blvd., but had fled in the middle of the night one month earlier, said the plaintiffs’ attorney, Blaine Greenberg. At issue in the case is whether
Marvin Engineering should have known the building lacked property security and as a result, a breakin was likely. Greenberg alleged there were three other breaches of security at the building just months before the incident. What’s more, many of the security mechanisms — the locks on the elevator and fire doors, among others — at the commercial and residential use building weren’t working the afternoon the gunmen broke in, he said.
“They didn’t say a word about any of that to anyone,” Greenberg said. “What makes them think that this couldn’t have happened to anyone else? ... Is it any surprise that something awful happened when you see how this place was run?” Gilbert Garcia, the defendant’s attorney, said there was no way Marvin Engineering could have foreseen the attack. He said the gunmen were intent on getting in and any security measures likely See JURY, page 5
Suit was a misstep in manhole accident BY JAMIE WETHERBE Special to the Daily Press
SM COURTHOUSE — A civil trial here involving two people who sued the government because they fell into a manhole on a West Los Angeles sidewalk amounted to one lesson — watch where you are going. Testimony from the plaintiffs — Avraham Gottesman and Barbara Bubar — revealed that they didn’t see the uncovered manhole before they fell in. They argued it was Los Angeles County’s fault
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■ Steve Danos, 24, was arrested as allegedly the man who had been sneaking into young women’s apartments to watch them sleep and to snuggle with them (and, sometimes, to fold their laundry) (Baton Rouge, La., October). ■ Stephen P. Linnen, 33, an assistant to Republican legislators in the Ohio House, was indicted on 56 counts stemming from an 18-month spree in which a naked man jumps out from hiding and photographs startled women’s reactions (Columbus, Ohio, November).
While the state continues to feel the pain of a widespread nursing shortage, Santa Monica hospitals have met the challenge by recruiting and retaining skilled professionals. It’s been noted as a crisis since at least 1998 when it became apparent that fewer people were entering the profession and colleges began eliminating nursing programs, said Mary Ellen Blakley, a nurse at Saint John’s Health Care Center and the vice president of patient services. California is ranked as the 49th worst state as far as the number of nurses, just behind Nevada. In 2000, the state was short about 13,000 nurses, by 2005, that number is estimated to be 20,000 and in 2010, it will grow to 42,000, Blakley said. The reasons for the shortage are plenty — fewer
because it didn’t cover or mark the potential hazard. But Gregory Houle, the attorney for LA County, said it’s not the government’s responsibility to ensure that people use caution when walking on a public street. After all, Gottesman was reading the sports page and drinking a cup of coffee when he fell into the hole and sprained his knee. Minutes later, Bubar broke her ribs and shoulder blade after getting out of a car, then “disappearing” up to her chest in the same hole. See ACCIDENT, page 6
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