Two inmates escaped from a police jail cell that was constructed with drywall rather than sheet metal. One suspect attracted attention when he was cited covered in drywall dust. The other suspect is still at-large and is described by police as a male, 6ft. 2 in., 185 pounds and Navaho White.

The Santa Monica High School assistant band director accused of having sex with an underage girl has reached a plea bargain arrangement where he pled guilty to an unspecified lesser charge; perhaps something like having sex with Roseanne Barr.

In a related story, the Santa Monica Unified School District is optimistic about implementing a program under which students who have dropped out of school would re-enter the system while tutoring younger students. What’s next– allowing drug dealers to encourage sobriety?

The City of Santa Monica tax revenues in fiscal 2005-06 are expected to increase 11% or $50,000,000 over the previous year; prompting what they call in government a fiscal crisis.

Take a guess what the City spends daily for office supplies. If you guessed $142,466 per day including holidays and weekends you are correct. Now you know how Staples could afford a sports arena.

The S.M. City Council established additional preferential parking zones in the eastern part of town. Preferential parking is an enlightened public policy that allows rent-controlled tenants without jobs ample street parking during business hours in addition to their building parking and renders parking spaces in a neighborhood half-used while employees of businesses that pay taxes to the city must fend for themselves.

If there were a contest for the community group with the worst acronym, one local group would be in the running; Friends of Sunset Park, otherwise known as FOSP.

City officials have allocated $3 million in grants to restore the beach house William Randolph Hearst built in the 1920s for Marianne Davies. Perhaps the refurbished property will continue to inspire rich business executives to build trophy beach pads for their mistresses.

63 civil lawsuits have been filed in connection with the two-year-old vehicular manslaughter case where an elderly man killed 10 people and injured dozens of others when he drove his car through the Santa Monica Farmer’s market. Named in the civil suits are the driver Russell Weller, the City of Santa Monica, the Bayside District Corp., the Los Angeles County agricultural commission and the State of California. Court proceeding may need a special setting to accommodate all the parties; something like Staples Center.

To avoid the problems associated with the large unruly crowds drawn to Santa Monica by its Fourth of July fireworks show, the city instead supported a Fireworks show on July 2 at Santa Monica College’s Corsair Field. In a related move, the council voted to move New Years Day to January 3.

Two community members helped police identify a couple of fleeing bank robbery suspects and the license plate of their getaway vehicle. Asked for their names by reporters, one said he preferred to go by “Sanchez” and the other said he preferred to go by “Izquierdo.” Did I hear someone say “mistrial”?