Local News Briefs

Strong Currents Possible as Tsunami Waves From Chile Quake Reach CA

Strong currents were expected in Southern California after tide gauges in Santa Monica showed levels above predicted readings early Wednesday morning, according to the NWS. The elevated waves arrived just before 5 a.m. in Santa Monica and about 20 minutes later to the north in San Luis Obispo County.

Wave heights measured only a few inches and just above the predicted level, but the NWS reported “noticeable currents” in Ventura and Santa Barbara harbors. Tsunami waves lose energy as they travel from the quake epicenter, but can still impact currents thousands of miles away, sometimes hours after the intial waves arrive.

The small surges generated by the sudden displacement in the sea floor will likely continue Wednesday in and out of harbors and marinas. The NWS adviced anyone going in the water Wednesday to be aware of potentially strong and unusual ocean currents.

L.A. Puppet Fest Returns for Second Year

The L.A. Puppet Fest, the citywide puppet celebration, is back for its second year with 12 days of events across Santa Monica and Hollywood.

On Thursday, “Fun with Strings” played at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater and gave the audience a backstage tour of the puppeteering world.

Roberto Ferreira, executive director of L.A. Puppet Fest, said most of the events are for adults because of the language, but there will be events for kids as well.

Returning this year is the signature Million Puppet Parade down Third Street Promenade in which participants are encouraged to bring, buy or make a puppet at the parade.

“Last year,” said Ferreira, “we had 300 participants, and this year we’re expecting way more.”

Robin Walsh’s “The Devil You Say” will be playing Friday at Elephant Stage’s Lillian Theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard.

“Forever Marilyn” Heads for NJ

The “Forever Marilyn” statue, a fixture in downtown Palm Springs for nearly two years will be transported today to its next stop -- New Jersey.

A send-off event was held last Thursday for the sculpture, which had resided at Palm Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way since May 2012. People who’ve taken photos with “Forever Marilyn” were encouraged to contribute to a photo album of the sculpture’s stay in Palm Springs by posting photos on social media sites.

The 26-foot-high, 34,300-pound painted metal sculpture had been slated to stay in Palm Springs through June 2013, but its owner, Santa Monica-based Sculpture Foundation, granted a few extensions, according to P.S. Resorts, a nonprofit started by local hoteliers to promote Palm Springs tourism.

The sculpture will be taken to Hamilton, N.J., for an exhibition and gala honoring its creator, Seward Johnson, at a sculpture park called Grounds For Sculpture.

The statue -- based on a photograph by Bruno Bernard taken during the 1955 filming of “The Seven Year Itch” -- was unveiled in July 2011 on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, shipped in pieces to Palm Springs in May 2012 and reassembled a week later. P.S. Resorts and local donors, restaurant owners, hoteliers and merchants helped pay the $78,000 installation cost.

According to P.S. Resorts, the Sculpture Foundation has received “countless” requests and invitations for “Forever Marilyn,” including from out of the country. The next stop after New Jersey has not been decided.

In Palm Springs, movie screenings, concerts, a Marilyn Monroe birthday celebration and a look-alike contest were held at the statue.

Monroe supposedly was discovered in Palm Springs at Charlie Farrell’s Racquet Club by talent agent Johnny Hyde in 1949. She spent time in Palm Springs in the 1950s with her then-husband, Baseball Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio, and owned a home in the Vista Las Palmas neighborhood in the early 1960s.