By Daily Planet slaves
Treble, 36, who is known for throwing back three or four beers before work and then again at lunch, suddenly freaked out and stormed off the construction site, they added.
“He threw his sandwich down on the ground,” co-worker Jerry Bass said, “and screamed, ‘I hate tuna fish. Every damn day it’s tuna fish and crackers, tuna fish and crackers. Well I hate tuna fish and crackers. And I hate this job. My life sucks.”
Meanwhile, shots rang out in the Pico neighborhood.
The incident is not expected to delay completion of the unique Rand Corp. building sometime in the unforeseeable future, officials said.
New fee for stair climbers
By Daily Planet slaves
The cost of getting a fit in Santa Monica is going up.
City officials approved a 25-cent fee for athletes wanting to run up or down any of the staircases in Santa Monica.
Starting next week, a city staffer will be stationed at the top and bottom of both staircases in the Santa Monica Canyon, as well as the stairs that run from Palisades Park to the beach. The 25-cent fee will be charged for each trip up and each trip down.
“It’s about time we found a way to charge those people,” said planning director Ursula Underfire. “They were getting all that exercise without paying a dime. This should send a clear message to all of you riding on the bike path and swimming in the ocean — nothing is free in this city. Nothing.”
Little league brawl at Los Amigos
By Daily Planet slaves
A brawl erupted between two team dads at Los Amigos Park Saturday during a little league baseball match between the Santa Monica Angels and the Santa Monica Orioles.
Nobody was seriously injured in the fist fight, though several youngsters said they “never want to play baseball ever, ever again.”
The scuffle started at the end of the eighth inning when a fly ball was ruled caught by the Angels’ right fielder. A father dressed in Oriole blue jumped up in the bleachers and ran onto the field and shouted, “He didn’t catch it — it bounced. He’s cheating.”
As the umpire tried to calm the riled father, another dad — wearing a red Angels baseball cap — stormed onto the field.
“A call’s a call,” the second father shouted. “And you lost it. Why don’t you go back to your little spot on the bench and watch your sucky kid lose again.”
Meanwhile, shots rang out in the Pico neighborhood.
The Orioles team Dad then took a swing at the Angels father. The two exchanged a series of blows before the stunned youngsters. The midday brawl eventually was stopped by two umpires, but not before the Angels’ dad suffered a black eye.
After the Orioles won the game by a score of 2 to 1, the Angels team dad screeched off in his car and shouted, “We’ll get you next time, you cheaters.”
Kiss the sand goodbye
By Daily Planet slaves
Much of the sand on Santa Monica beach was sold to French real estate tycoon Ahmed Agbar Wednesday for $4.2 billion, officials said.
Agbar said he bought the beach sand from the Santa Monica Pier to the Venice Pier to use in a “wonderland” theme park development on eastern Catalina Island. With the removal of the sand, the ocean will reach the boardwalk at high tide.
Surfers in the area were particularly excited about the project because it was expected to create a “wave paradise.” Strong ocean currents created by the removal of the beach sand will ensure a minimum of six-foot swells each day.
Local surfer Pat Donefor said he was ecstatic about the developments.
“The beach was always just a one big sleepover party for the homeless — now we are guaranteed of the best waves in Southern California, every day,” he said.
Construction on the project is slated to begin this summer and is expected to last until the end of 2008. A spokesman said oil tankers will carry the sand to Catalina twice weekly.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 1, 2004. Read the original PDF.