| FIRST OPA Monthly Meeting of the Year Next Monday (Jan 12): It’s a great time to check out the organization and help set our 2025 priorities. The meeting is at the Ocean Park Library @ 2601 Main St. starting with food and mingling at 6:00pm. We will also be hybrid on Zoom. Click here to add the OPA monthly meeting and Zoom link to your calendar. Here’s the zoom link, here’s the full agenda, and here’s the schedule: |
| 6:00 – 6:30: Food, refreshments and mingling6:30 – 7:30: Guest Speakers:SaMo Police DepartmentSaMo Fire DepartmentSanta Monica Police, Chief Derrick JacobMeet the Ocean Park Merchant Guest: Cheryl Petram (The Pump Station & Nursury)Matt Goldenberg (NOMA to discuss Artificial Turf Ban)Kaylee Hawkins (Meals on Wheels West)7:30 – 8:30: Board business, including 2026 priorities, upcoming calendar of events, & more) |
| Local Spotlight: Jameson’s Pub is your spot for Super Bowl action. Burgers, wings, ice cold beer and giant-sized drink specials! Seating is first come-first serve so arrive early for a table! Reply to this email if you want to share a favorite local business. |
| Holey Grail Donuts Closed: Sad news as the Main St. donut shop closed all their SoCal shops this week. |
| Councilmember Dan Hall’s Newsletter: In his 1-year on the job recap, he celebrates library reopenings and fast plan check turnaround times and discusses the Council revisiting the new downtown parking rates, capital improvement and Vacant Property Ordinance implementation updates, among other topics. Read it and/or subscribe here. |
| The actual grass may soon be greener after Council rejects turf fields: The Santa Monica City Council unanimously approved a 25-year Parks and Recreation Vision Plan but amended a key policy to re-evaluate existing artificial turf fields for potential replacement with natural grass alternatives at the end of their lifespan. More details here. |
| Santa Monica’s entertainment zone could expand throughout Downtown and into neighboring streets: Santa Monica officials are considering expanding the downtown Entertainment Zone, where patrons can carry alcoholic drinks while walking outdoors. The zone could grow from its current three-block area to encompass much of downtown after showing no increase in crime. More details here. |
| The Blue Notebook – A Weekly SMPD Recap – January 18-24: Here is the Police Department Weekly Update. They have started to include useful year-to-date comparisons to last year. For example, there have been 8,486 calls for service in 2026 compared to 7,421 during the same period in 2025 (+14.4%) and 310 arrests year-to-date, compared to 192 last year (+61.5%). |
| Locals Discount Program is Back! OPA has partnered with the SaMo Public Library to launch a Community Discount Program. Local Ocean Park participating businesses include Fitoor and Junior Cookies. Check out the full list here and expect more to come! |
| Pump Station Celebrating 5 Years on Main Street! Here is a message from their Cheryl Petran, who has been a tremendous OPA supporter between their Gold membership, raffle donations, and more: |
| Reaching our five‑year anniversary on Main Street feels huge — not just because of the milestone itself, but because of everything we’ve all weathered together. From the challenges of Covid, the Palisades Fires and all the rebuilding that followed, you’ve stood with us, supported us, and helped us maintain the community and village we’ve been for the Greater Los Angeles Area for last 40 years (yeah, that’s right we’re celebrating 40 years later this year – stay tuned!).Thanks to you, we’ve been able to continue supporting expecting and new families in LA as they navigate a post‑covid, often divided world. Five years later, we’re still a gathering place, a support system, and a spot where parents can take a deep breath and say, “Okay… at least we’re all in this together.” And we truly are.To celebrate this milestone — and to give parents something fun to look forward to (besides a glass of vino at bedtime) — we’ve planned a full week of on-line social media giveaways plus a day of community funCLICK HERE to learn more about their 5-Year Anniversary Event Details & Raffle Prizes |
