Author: The Argonaut

Diane Barretti, vice president and director of sales for Sievers/Burnett Press, will be installed as president of the Westchester-LAX/Marina del Rey Chamber of Commerce during an installation dinner Friday, June 18th, in the Marina del Rey Marriott Hotel, 4100 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey. The black-tie affair will begin at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. The event will celebrate the chamber’s 50th anniversary. Barretti will succeed Marina attorney David Voss as chamber president. During the event, Voss will present awards to chamber members for their service during his chamber administration. The chamber’s annual Fritz B. Burns Outstanding Community Service Award will also be presented and Barretti will announce her choice for honorary mayor during her administration. Barretti graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City in 1974 and moved to Los Angeles in 1978, working in the fashion industry at the California Mart until 1984. She then was owner of Printing Unlimited until 2004, when she joined Sievers/Burnett Press. She joined the then-Marina del Rey Chamber of Commerce in 1985 and has been active in local and Chamber affairs. She has received a half-dozen awards from the Marina del Rey Chamber and the Westchester-LAX/Marina del Rey Chamber and served on their boards. She has also served on the boards of the Marina del Rey Holiday Boat Parade, the Los Angeles Police Department Pacific Area...

Congresswoman Jane Harman, who represents Venice in the U.S. House of Representatives and is the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, has praised George Tenet in response to his resignation as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Tenet resigned from his CIA director post Thursday, June 3rd. “Tenet has much to be proud of as he leaves one of the longest tenures in CIA history,” Harman said. “He restored morale and provided stability and continuity at a crucial time.” Tenet was in charge of the CIA during the current campaign against terrorism and military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. “I have been critical of prewar intelligence on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and ties to terror, as well as failures leading up to the attacks of September 11th,” Harman said. “With Tenet’s departure, the President has the opportunity to fix these problems by transforming the job that Tenet held,” she...

The Santa Monica Rent Control Board is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m., Thursday, June 10th, in City Council Chambers, Santa Monica City Hall, 1685 Main St., Santa Monica, to consider; 833 11th St., No. 2; a tenant appeals the decision awarding a decrease for reduction in parking amenity and loss of storage; 501 Santa Monica Blvd, No. 610; landlords appeal hearing officer decision that found a double garage is unit’s parking amenity; 2308 28th St. and 1115 Maple St.; applicants request an exemption of a three-unit property based upon owner occupancy pursuant to section 1801( c) (4); public hearings on presentation of 2004/2005 operating budget; proposed annual general adjustment — 2004/2005; and proposed regulation 3026 — general adjustment number 27. Information, (310) 458-8751. The Del Rey Neighborhood Council (DRNC) board of directors is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 10th, at Marina del Rey Middle School Library, 12500 Braddock Drive, to consider: a new project on Redwood Avenue; a motion to support Area E residents (1) petition to the Culver City DMV to mitigate its parking lot spillover so that residents within a three-block radius have space at all times to park along unrestricted frontage before their homes; (2) specific proposal to move commercial and motorcycle driver testing to another office; (3) initial petition for city preferential parking; and (4) effort to modify time-limited parking signage...