Top 5 Westside Stories: SM Airport Tower May Close, Car Pinned Under Big Rig on 405

Close out your weekend with a recap of the newsiest and most popular Patch articles from last week. Here are the five stories that topped the headlines on Westside Patch sites:

• Santa Monica Airport Tower may close in early April:  The Federal Aviation Administration says it is moving forward with its plan to shut down the traffic control tower at the Santa Monica Airport in early April. The SMO tower, which handled about 370 flights a day last year, including by helicopters, prop planes and jets, is one of about 50 towers slated for closure as part of plan to cut $637 million from the FAA budget under sequestration. There are also about 170 contract towers, which are staffed with private contract workers, not FAA employees, on the agency's closure list.

• Culver City Man Pleads Not Guilty in Attempted Sex Assault of UCLA Student:  A man arrested last week for allegedly attempting to sexually assault a UCLA student in her Westwood apartment pleaded not guilty Monday to one count of assault with intent to commit rape, according to Daily Bruin reports. Evan Ryan Baldwin, 22, is currently being held on $1 million bail. He could face life in prison if convicted, the Daily Bruin reported. 

• Mike Bonin Wins District 11 Seat: Mike Bonin cruised to victory with over 60 percent of the vote in the race for the City Council District 11 seat.

• Santa Monica Big Blue Bus Starts Route 9 Detour Through Palisades: Effective Friday, March 8, the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus announced service changes to its Route 9 through Pacific Palisades in response to a tragic accident with a motorcyclist at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Marquez Avenue on Nov. 20, 2012.

• Car Pinned Underneath Big Rig on 405 Freeway: A man was rescued Monday night on the 405 Freeway southbound after reportedly rear-ending and pinning his Corvette underneath a tractor trailer, according to California Highway Patrol.