For the Record

Measure R Clarification

Our article, “Measure R Parcel Tax, Senior Exemption,” (Messenger, Vol 36 No 11, May 31, 2012) elicited a lot of phone calls to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) that resulted in a clarification to us regarding the parcel tax senior exemption. Kim Nguyen of SMMUSD Business Services contacted us with the following information:

“We have been receiving a number of calls from your readers and appreciate your assistance in our outreach efforts. We want to call your attention to clarify that this parcel tax is only assessed to parcels located within the SMMUSD. Property owners may refer to their property tax bill under Direct Assessments [where] there will be a line item, ‘SMMUSD Meas R,’ in the amount of $358.91 for 2011. If they do not see a parcel tax charge, it means that they are not located within our school district. Therefore, they would be not eligible for an exemption from the tax. 

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Thank you again for including this informational item in your publication.”

— Kim Nguyen

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Business Services

1651 16th Street

Santa Monica, CA  90404

Phone: (310) 450-8338, ext. 70-269

Fax: (310) 581-6720

The House that Doug Didn’t Build

We mistakenly captioned one of the photos in our center spread, “Ami and Doug Kirby: Freedom is Another Word for … Life in Topanga” (Messenger, Vol 36 No 11, May 31, 2012), thinking Doug Kirby built their house. As amazing as he is, he did not, but we learned that he did make the Shoji screens. So, he’s still amazing.