Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

Articles written by sarah storkin


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  • Mars Rising Over the Atlantic Visible to Millions, Creating Martian UFO Reports

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Jul 20, 2018

    A poster on Reddit recently shared this photo of Mars reflecting off the early evening sky, as it rises in the East. "Right now Mars is closer and brighter than it's been since 2003. It's so bright it's casting a reflection on the ocean as it rises. Took this two nights ago in Rhode Island," writes the Reddit poster, Advillious. "I live in the middle of nowhere, literally middle of nowhere. No light pollution what so ever. Population says 43 if you google my town. It's almost like the "middle...

  • "How to Shop for a Banana Split" Becomes a Viral Video With Unknown Star

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Jul 9, 2018

    In the video, the woman walks up to a table at a grocery store, picks a banana, then does a split. Simple enough, ehh? Watch it for yourself, when your wife isn't watching you.Men cannot usually do the splits as easily as women, because women are more flexible, some gymnasts say. But who is she? In a video as full of charm as it is of unexplainable sexuality, a young woman and her BF or BFF, have created a viral GIF wherein she shops for a banana. Yes that Laurel and Hardy era source of so much...

  • Main Street Celebrates Solstice with "Soulstice," Rock Climbing and Face Painting

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Jul 1, 2018

    Main Street Celebrates Solstice The annual Summer SOULstice block party event was held on Saturday June 24th. The event included live music, a wine garden, beer tent, local vendors and a petting zoo for children. Soulstice celebrate Ocean Park, and the longest day of the year of course, which occurred on June 21st. Main Street was closed from Pico to Ocean Park with side-street closures from Ocean Park to Kinney for Main Streets Annual Free Open Street Festival. There were 5 stages, over 100...

  • SMMUSD School Board to Hear Conflict-of-Interest Findings

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Jan 19, 2018

    An internal investigation into the possibility of conflicts of interest among members of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board will be presented at their meeting on Thursday. After the Los Angeles Times broke a story in November, 2017, about potential conflicts of interest regarding School Board Member Maria Leon-Vazquez and her husband, Santa Monica Councilmember Tony Vazquez, the school board launched this internal investigation. The investigation ended up expanding to include...

  • Scooter Roto Rooter: Criminal complaint against Bird to be heard February 1

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Jan 19, 2018

    The City of Santa Monica, ever vigilant to protect others from ripping them off, has filed a criminal complaint against Bird, the company providing phone-app electric scooters for rent. Bird provides the single-person electric scooters that can be found parked on sidewalks throughout the city. The devices can be unlocked with a phone-based app. To ride costs $1 per unlocking plus 15 cents per minute. When finished, the rider then relocks the device using the phone application. But Bird...

  • Motor Scooters Run Amok in Santa Monica, Authorities Say

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Jan 13, 2018

    Motor Scooters Run Amok in River City Paparazzi photographed Baywatch actress Charlotte McKinney riding one down Ocean Avenue near the Santa Monica Pier. Tourists ride them, and SMC students love them. Motorized scooters seem to be everywhere in Santa Monica lately. We all love them, and authorities need to regulate anything we love, right? Late last year, the Santa Monica City Attorney's has filed a criminal complaint against Bird Rides,which offers motorized scooters for rent in Santa Monica....

  • Early Release of Elderly Lifers, "Sanctuary State," Vote by Mail, and Outlawing AIDS

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Jan 5, 2018

    Massive increase in Gas & Car Tax: First SB-1: increases your gas taxes by .12 Cents and the car tax (Vehicle License Fee) by an average of $150. Then 9 sellout traitor Republicans voted to renew the Cap N Trade program-which should be called Cap n Tax Scheme-which will increase gas approx .73 cents per gallon according to the supposedly 'non-partisan' Legislative Analysts Office (LAO). Multiple laws to turn California into a Sanctuary for Illegal Alien Criminals: A) $30 million of our taxes to...

  • Santa Monica in Transition: Top Ten Local News Stories of 2017

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Dec 29, 2017

    It has been a year for the record books! While a Santa Monica Observer Intern goes to Washington and writes speeches for a Republican president, 3 of 7 members of the SMMUSD Board end up under investigation for conflict of interest. In no particular order, here our our top ten stories of 2017: 1. DISTRICTING LAWSUIT - The City has spent several million $ already and plans to keep fighting a losing battle 2. SMRR supposed to mean Santa Monicans for Renters Rights but has morphed into a...

  • Elon Musk Plans to Launch His Tesla Roadster to Mars in January 2017

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Dec 29, 2017

    No, this isn't fake news. The CEO and founder of Hawthorne based SpaceX rocket company, plans to use the maiden voyage of the Falcon Heavy Lift rocket to take his Tesla Roadster to Mars. Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster is planned to be sent to a heliocentric Mars transfer orbit. Falcon Heavy is a reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle being designed and manufactured by SpaceX. The Falcon Heavy (previously known as the Falcon 9 Heavy) is a variant of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and will consist of...

  • NYC Going to the Dogs--How To Take Your Dog On The Subway In a Bag

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Jun 12, 2017

    It is a good example of the law of unintended consequences. A New York City transit rule went into effect in October 2016 prohibiting animals on the subway. The law has an exception for service dogs or law-enforcement Canines. Did NYC residents just accept it and comply? Nope. Because they're New Yorkers, got it? The law was intended to limit subway ridership to small dogs. "Needless to say, New York pup parents aren't taking this sitting down. Or standing. Or holding on to one of those...

  • King of Holland Has a Part Time Job: Airline Pilot on Dutch KLM Airlines

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|May 26, 2017

    What's a bored king of the Pays Bas do on his off hours? Sneak out of the palace to fly jumbo jets, it turns out. The kind with passengers. King Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht and is the oldest child of Beatrix of the Netherlands and German diplomat Claus van Amsberg, says Wikipedia. "Most people don't listen to the announcements) anyway," he told the Guardian Newspaper, when asked if he is recognized. He doesn't give his true name. The King, who turned 50 last week, has been an avid...

  • Ivanka Just Got An Office In The West Wing. Tiffany Trump Deserves One, Too

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Mar 23, 2017

    The big item on the national news wire tonight is that Ivanka Trump is getting an office in the West Wing of the White House. Well, Ok, the big item was James Comey was testifying to Congress, something about James Clapper's trip to Russia and a brokerage fee paid on a 19% interest in Rosneft. But the big news that even though she will not accept a salary, Tiffany Trump, long her Father's advisor in business, will get an office on the second floor of the West Wing next to National Security...

  • Platte Library in Wisconsin Referencing the Epic Oscar Fail by Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Mar 7, 2017

    Someone at the Platte, Wisconsin Public Library has an eye on the Oscars and a sense of humor. Not bad for an account with less than 200 followers, but 1000 likes! Lulu in La La Land, Oops! Midnight all in a row at the Platte, Wisconsin public library. Platteville Library @PlattevillePL If you enjoyed the #Oscars last night, here's some library book recommendations! #librarylife 7:32 AM - 27 Feb 2017 1,239 1,239 Retweets 2,102 2,102 likes Presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, reunited on...

  • Ten Reasons To Love Tiffany Trump, Despite Being the Black Sheep of the Family

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Mar 1, 2017

    Tiffany Trump is enormously popular, much more so than any other recent Presidential daughter. This despite not living in the White House, or being a mere half sister to her flashy siblings. Sweetness alone doesn't explain her magnetism, so here are the Top Ten Reasons to Love Tiffany Trump, despite that fact that she's the black sheep of her family: 1.Tiffany's mom is Marla Maples, Trump's second wife, and Tiffany is the image of her mother. Apparently their relationship started as an affair wh...

  • Emmy Award Winning TV Producer Convicted of Stabbing His Own Tenant

    Sarah Storkin|Feb 12, 2017

    When the victim laughed at the victim's prospects to win Emmy's, the TV producer stabbed him. And the TV producer had won an Emmy, writing about a tenant who had been stabbed by his landlord. No really. It actually happened. A jury found an Emmy-winning television producer guilty today of stabbing his Studio City tenant, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced. Deputy District Attorney Elan S. Carr said Andre Salamán Bautista, aka Andre Bauth, 38, was found guilty of...

  • We Have Detected 234 Alien Civilizations, Say Laval, Cornell University Astronomers

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Jan 1, 2017

    Two Cornell University astronomers have published a paper postulating that light modulations visible in 234 stars, are most likely signals generated by Extraterrestrial Intelligence. https://arxiv.org/abs/1610.03031 If true, this is the most important scientific discovery since the fall of the Roman Empire. Last September, a signal from space that seemed to be of extraterrestrial origin, turned out to be from a Russian satellite. This signal, however, is from an entire class of stars. The...

  • Woman Alleges MTA Employees Left Her for Dead on Blue Line Train

    Sarah Storkin|Dec 19, 2016
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    A civil lawsuit was filed against the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority ("LACMTA") today by a 57-year-old woman who was the victim of an unprovoked, racially-motivated verbal and physical attack while riding the Blue Line train home from work in the evening. The police have classified the attack as a hate crime. The lawsuit was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court. In the complaint, the plaintiff, Nidia Romero, alleges that three individuals began aggressively harassing her using...

  • Breitbart Accuses Betsy DeVos, Trump Education Secretary, of Supporting Common Core

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Nov 24, 2016

    Breitbart news accuses President Elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the Department of Education, as a supporter of Common Core. Amway co-founder Betsy DeVos is a billionaire known for her philanthropy. She's also a grandmother and a person who has been involved in educational groups and causes for a long time. Trump promised to do away with common core, which is a popular opinion among his conservative, rural, blue collar base. This from Breitbart.com: "Anti-Common Core grassroots groups of...

  • Forward-Thinking Soledad High School is Going Solar, Says School District

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Sep 19, 2016

    The Soledad Unified School District approved a contract with OpTerra Energy Services, Inc. (OpTerra Energy Services) at its last board meeting of August to design and construct the first solar project at Soledad High School. The project is funded through a $2 million, zero percent interest loan from the California Energy Commission and is expected to be completed by February 2017. It is estimated that the project will generate over 745,000 kWh of clean electric energy, which is the equivalent...

  • Samsung Smartphones Recall: Serious Fire and Burn Hazards

    Sarah Storkin, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission|Sep 19, 2016

    Consumers should immediately stop using and power down the recalled Galaxy Note7 devices purchased before September 15, 2016. Samsung has received 92 reports of the batteries overheating in the U.S., including 26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage, including fires in cars and a garage. This recall involves the Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphone sold before September 15, 2016. The recalled devices have a 5.7 inch screen and were sold in the following colors: black onyx, blue coral,...

  • Suicide Prevention: New State of the Art Mental Health Crisis and Resource Tool

    Sarah Storkin|Sep 14, 2016

    In honor of National Suicide Prevention Week, the Therapy Live team has released a new tool that is designed to save more lives. Located at www.Therapy.Live/Suicide, visitors will find a state of the art interactive map to assist clinicians and visitors to locate crisis resource centers within their communities. "I am very proud of the tireless work that our team has invested towards our mission of altering the trajectory of mental health delivery and saving lives. Today's new feature that has b...

  • Eliminating the Mosquito is Technically Possible: Why Not Just Do It?

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Aug 23, 2016
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    Thousands of species feed on the blood of various kinds of hosts, mainly vertebrates, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and even some kinds of fish. Some mosquitoes also attack invertebrates, mainly arthropods. Though the loss of blood is seldom of any importance to the victim, the saliva of the mosquito often causes an irritating rash that is a serious nuisance. Much more serious though, are the roles of many species of mosquitoes as vectors of diseases. In passing from host to...

  • How the Black Lives Matter Movement Became Anti-Israel and Anti-Semitic

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer|Aug 7, 2016
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    The Black Lives Matter movement stands to lose potential support from influential Jewish organizations after release of a platform that slanders Israel. The activist movement associated with protests across the nation in support of blacks wrongfully killed by white and white police officers recently released a lengthy platform of principles. Among those, catalogued under "Invest-Divest," is this statement, filled with old and oft-refuted canards against the Jewish state: "The US justifies and...

  • McClure Tunnel Closed Tonight For Maintenance

    Sarah Storkin, Observer Editor|Jul 11, 2016

    PCH Will have intermittent lane closures tonight after 10 pm to 5 am, from the McClure Tunnel to Malibu, for cleaning and maintenance. This was in a tweet from the California Department of Transportation, or CalTrans. The McClure Tunnel is a tunnel in Santa Monica, California, that connects Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1) to the terminus of the Santa Monica Freeway (Interstate 10). The tunnel passes underneath the intersection of Colorado Avenue and Ocean Avenue, and the southern end of...