MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2003
Volume 2, Issue 190
FR
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Santa Monica Daily Press A newspaper with issues
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NEWS OF THE WEIRD by Chuck Shepard
In May, 36-year-veteran ambulance driver Mike Ferguson, rushing a liver for transplant from Leeds to Cambridge, England, on the A1 highway, was ticketed for doing 104 mph. In fact, Ferguson was ticketed by two jurisdictions that night, but Cambridgeshire police dismissed thae ticket after Ferguson’s explanation while Lincolnshire police sent the case to prosecutors even after the explanation, and at press time, a court date was being set. QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.”
Chamber to enter politics for first time Organization establishes committee to recruit pro-business political candidates for Council BY CAROLYN SACKARIASON Daily Press Staff Writer
With a new captain at the helm, the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce is heading for uncharted waters. Dr. Michael Gruning — who was officially named the chamber’s new chairman last week — will help officially lead the organization into Santa Monica’s stormy political arena for the first time. The chamber, which has never endorsed City Council candidates, recently established a political action committee charged with finding office-seekers for 2004 who will be advocates for business owners’ interests. The chamber has for years attempted to protect businesses, but its members frequently butt heads with policy-makers in City Hall. The majority of the current City Council are members of Santa Monicans For Renters Rights, a liberal and powerful political party. As a result, the chamber’s interests aren’t a priority and are in the minority when it comes to local politics. However, if candidates can be propped up with the help of the chamber’s endorsement and fundraising, the organization may be able to put some of its own in office and make the changes it wants in Santa See COMMERCE, page 6
Teacher claims partial victory in overtime case District says he was ‘double-dipping’ BY DAVE DANFORTH Daily Press Staff Writer
A physical education instructor won a partial victory recently in an unusual case in which he sued the
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District for overtime pay. Gary Bush, who has worked for the school system for 16 years and still works there, won about onethird of the $9,911 he sought, even though his union had difficulty pursuing the case because the overtime allegedly arose out of a
Jammin’
INDEX
ing is used for pupils who have special physical needs or are disabled. He claimed that during the fall of 2001, he struck a verbal deal with assistant superintendent Tim McNulty allowing him the equivalent of a “sixth period” of pay to undertake the training. Bush pointed to a parallel See TEACHER, page 7
BY ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS
Horoscopes
Associated Press Writer
Say yes to invite, Scorpio . . . . .2
Local Santa Monica surf report . . . . . .3
Opinion Homeless should be included . .4
Classifieds Only $3.50 a day . . . . . . . . . . .9
Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press
People in news
verbal agreement. The award — for overtime during the 2001-2002 school year — came in a small claims case he brought against the district, whose officials said he has a history of trying to wring extra pay from the district and was “double-dipping.” Bush, from Marina del Rey, claims he had to train two new employees in adapted physical education techniques. Such train-
Half a billion in Iraqi assets but no owner
– Erma Bombeck
Eddie George to marry . . . . .12
Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press
Dr. Michale Gruning is sworn in as the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce’s new chairman by former chairman Linda Tisherman.
Norman Jones, his son Bailey and the band Rhythm Child sing at the Farmer’s Market on Main Street on Sunday.
TAXES
ALL FORMS • ALL TYPES • ALL STATES
AUDITS • BACK TAXES • BOOKKEEPING • SMALL BUSINESS
SAMUEL B. MOSES, CPA
(310) 395-9922 429 Santa Monica Blvd. Ste. 710 Santa Monica 90401
GENEVA — The global search for Saddam Hussein’s riches is turning up Iraqi assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars in European and Middle Eastern banks, but little if anything has his name on it. “There's no way Saddam Hussein would have opened an account in his own name,” said James Nason of the Swiss Bankers Association, whose members are required to report any suspicious accounts to the government of Switzerland. Lebanon, Britain and Switzerland have each found about half a billion dollars in Iraqi assets, but it is not clear to whom the money belongs beyond official Iraqi government accounts. The United States, which launched the search for Saddam’s wealth the day after the U.S.-led invasion started last March, acknowledges that finding the hidden assets will be very difficult. See RICHES, page 7