Author: The Argonaut

Stars of Westside Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” also excel in science and medicine By Christina Campodonico  For many people, the closest association science and math may have with “The Nutcracker” is that the dancing confections in the Sugar Plum Fairy’s fantasy Land of Sweets might have been cooked up by a mad scientist in some sort of fever dream. (In reality, “The Nutcracker” ballet is adapted from French author Alexandre Dumas’ cheerier take on E.T.A. Hoffman’s dark Christmas tale starring a multi-headed mouse king.) For four featured dancers in Westside Ballet of Santa Monica’s upcoming production of “The Nutcracker,” playing...

Compiled by Gary Walker Widow Pleas for Driver Who Killed Whole Foods Cook to Come Forward The Venice woman whose husband died after being hit by a pickup truck at the intersection of Lincoln Boulevard and Rose Avenue is calling on the driver to identify himself and for her husband’s employer to explain why nobody called an ambulance. Timoteo Martinez Ildefonso, a father of three who worked as a cook at the Whole Foods Market in Venice, was walking back to work from an early evening break on Nov. 15 when a red pickup turning from Rose struck him...

Plan to shrink Mar Vista Community Council would expel contrarian minority By Gary Walker Just five months ago the highest voter turnout in Mar Vista Community Council history propelled the Standing Up For Stakeholders slate to a landslide victory, giving its seven members majority control of the 13-seat board following a decidedly pro-homeowner campaign pitched largely as a countervailing force to L.A. City Councilman Mike Bonin. The Stakeholders’ mandate was further amplified by the concurrent election victories of North Westdale Neighborhood Association President Martin Rubin and Venice Boulevard road diet resistance leader Selena Inouye, who tend to vote in...