ISSUE NO. 31
MARCH 2, 2001
OUR 80th YEAR
http://RotaryClubofSantaMonica.org
WHAT’S AHEAD FOR PLAYA VISTA?
The
biggest urban development project in the U.S. – if it is built. That’s
what the proposed mix of thousands of apartments, luxury homes and multistory
condominiums at Playa Vista will be, if the seven builders who’ve planned it
can fulfill their plans. So far they haven’t broken ground.
Together,
the builders bought about a thousand acres (bigger than the Century City area)
south of Marina del Rey nearly a year ago. Then they applied for building
permits. But Los Angeles officials refused to give a go-ahead until they could
examine the terrain. There were pockets of methane gas and an earthquake
fault, they said. Their study of the risks, still incomplete, may be released
within the next few weeks.
Some
environmentalists are fighting to quash the project. “This land is not made
for the kind of high-density development that has been proposed,” says
Marcia Hanscom, executive director of the Wetlands Action Network.
But
Playa Vista officials and the builders say there are proven ways to minimize
the environmental risks, and they are pressing for permission to go ahead. A
Playa Vista spokesman, Neal Sacharow, expects that permits will be granted and
the first batch of apartments (to rent for $400,000 apiece) will be ready
about a year from now.
This
Friday we’ll hear from a veteran reporter who has studied the project and
its problems. That’s Jill Stewart, who earned a master’s degree in
journalism from Stanford, then worked for the L. A. Times for seven
years, reporting on governmental and urban affairs. For the past four years
she has been with New Times, a local weekly newspaper that is available
free on newsstands and carries a big volume of advertising. She’ll tell us
what she sees ahead for Playa Vista – and for the nearby areas if the
buildings go up.
FINES LEVIED ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16TH
Your
“fine” reporter Lionel Ruhman was absent from this meeting. Not
having Lionel’s flair, your typist will just report the fines as they were
levied:
Jim
Haljun has
been named the new president of the YMCA. That cost him $100. President John
Lehne also learned that Jim had just joined a club (the Bel Air Bay Club)
and that cost Jim an additional $150.
Reverend
Patricia Farris is being honored by the Claremont School of Theology,
with the Distinguished Ministry award. This will be made official at a ceremony
being held on March 11th. The honor cost Reverend Farris $325.
FRIDAY MEETINGS FOR YOUR CALENDAR
March
9th:
Jeff Goodman on “Success on the Far Side of Failure”.
March
16th:
Past Presidents’ Day, Judge Edward Rafeedie presiding.
March
23rd:
“Our Mental Health?” skits by members.
March
30th:
Robert Brown, former Angels' president, on professional baseball.
April
6th:
Four-Way Test talks by school students.
April
13th:
DARK. Good Friday. No meeting.
April
20th:
Craft talks by two members.
A THOUGHT FROM 85 YEARS AGO
“The
standing of Rotary is, of course, largely dependent upon the standing of its
individual members. This thought naturally leads us to seek new members from the
ranks of strong, well-known businessmen.
“Let
us not, however, become obsessed of the idea that a prospective member will
necessarily become a good member just because he has a big bank roll. There are
considerations far more important than those of possessions. We must guard the
democracy of Rotary beyond all things. The democratic spirit is essential to the
welfare of all worthwhile organizations, but it is the very spirit of Rotary.
Rotary must never be permitted to become merely a rich man’s club. With the
democracy of our organization kept always pure, we may hope to attain hitherto
undreamed of heights in the elevation of business standards.”
Paul Harris
Message of 1916 RI Convention
WHAT OUR DOLLARS DID IN ONE MONTH
A
dip into the records for one month a few years ago revealed that the following
near-miracles occurred in that typical month, because of money provided by our
club’s Community and Youth Service committee:
Certain families in Santa Monica lacked
refrigerators, stoves and other necessities. Suddenly they had them, provided by
the Boys’ Club with $1,500 from us. Certain mentally ill women had no place to
sleep or store their belongings. The Ocean Park Community Center built a
comfortable area for them. We paid $550 of the cost. The YWCA wanted to open its
doors to “latchkey kids” after school, but couldn’t do so because it
lacked a fire alarm system. With $3,500 from our club, the system was installed.
Elderly folks at Westside Independent Services for the Elderly sat through long,
dull evenings – until suddenly a used movie projector turned up there. We had
given $600 to buy it.
In
that same month, the following changes took place because our international
Rotary Foundation paid the needed money and sent people to see that the changes
happened:
A needy village in Mexico got a used ambulance.
Dentists appeared in a Hong Kong camp for Asian refugees. Four black teachers
from South Africa came here to get twenty days of training. Homeless Jamaicans
got food and medicines after a terrible hurricane. Relief teams appeared in
Columbia after a volcanic eruption buried towns there. Zanzibar suddenly got its
only eye doctor, with equipment provided by Rotary.
Month
in and month out, in widely-scattered places, life suddenly becomes better
because of money and people provided by Rotary. Here in Santa Monica the
necessary money comes from what we pay in fines on Fridays. Elsewhere in the
world, Rotary International spends whatever is needed because it has ample funds
at its fingertips, provided through the Paul Harris Fellowships which Rotarians
everywhere finance.
ROSTER PHOTOS
If you haven’t yet had your picture taken for the roster, Ron Bawden will have his photographic equipment at the March 2nd meeting. Please try to attend – we want to get the roster updated ASAP.