Judge says Navy must follow sonar restriction
A Los Angeles federal judge ruled Monday against the Bush Administration’s argument that an emergency situation required an override of her Jan. 3 decision limiting the Navy’s use of sonar. U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper wrote in her 36-page ruling that an emergency did not exist, and the Navy must take precautions to protect sea mammals during its training with sonar off the Southern California coast.
SMMUSD seeks public input on special education
Lou Barber & Associates, the firm selected by the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District to conduct an independent review of the district’s Special Education program, is holding a series of public input sessions this week.
The first session will take place on Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at District Headquarters, located at 1651 16th St. in Santa Monica. Two more will occur on Thursday at District Headquarters from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The final session will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Malibu High School Library, located at 30215 Morning View Dr.
Those unable to attend any of the sessions can e-mail Lou Barber with their comments at lou.barber@smmusd.org. For more information, call 310.450.8338.
Board of Education to meet in Malibu
The Board of Education of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District will hold one of its rare meetings in Malibu on Thursday. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, located at 23815 Stuart Ranch Rd. The agenda can be found at www.smmusd.org.
Pepperdine alumna hired by governor’s office
Andrea McCarthy, 21, was recently appointed as the communications manager for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office. She graduated from Pepperdine University last year with a degree in political science.
McCarthy is a former reporter at the Malibu Surfside News and was an intern at the national campaign headquarters for John McCain for President.
Local named to state Lyme disease committee
Malibu resident Barbara Barsocchini last month was appointed to the state’s Lyme Disease Advisory Committee. The committee, created in 1999 by the approval of Senate Bill 1115, makes recommendations to the California Department of Public Health on strategies to increase public awareness of Lyme disease.
Barsocchini is also vice president of the nonprofit California Lyme Disease Association.
-Jonathan Friedman