| Earth Day Things To Do (Wednesday 4/22): |
| Earth Day Boogie & Bloom with [OPA Gold Member] Superbloom and SPY (Wednesday 5:00-7:30pm): Is there a better way to celebrate Earth Day 🌍 than hands in the soil and a disco in a local community garden?! Join an evening of gardening, picking your own custom tea blends, and dancing at the Safe Place for Youth community garden in Venice! 🌱 All proceeds support Safe Place for Youth, providing essential resources for at risk youth, and Superbloom Collective, offering financially accessible wellness, arts, and community programming in public parks and beaches. luma.com/y5jec7x1 Big Blue Bus offers FREE RIDES on Earth Day: On Wednesday, April 22, 2026, Big Blue Bus will offer free rides in celebration of Earth Day! Reduce your carbon footprint, save on gas and parking costs, avoid traffic headaches, and support sustainable transportation in your community by giving Big Blue Bus a try! SaMo Dem Club Climate Justice Panel (Wednesday 7pm): “Wednesday marks the 56th anniversary of Earth Day 🌎, and at this critical moment for climate policy, our Club will be hosting a timely and urgent conversation on environmental justice. Join us for a special panel on how the Trump Administration’s anti-climate agenda is impacting frontline and marginalized communities, both nationally and here in Santa Monica. The conversation will be moderated by Santa Monica City Councilmember and environmental attorney Ellis Raskin.” @ The Church In Ocean Park (235 Hill Street) & Zoom. RSVP Here. |
| Santa Monica Approves Framework for Major Events Tied to World Cup & Olympics: The action marks a significant shift in how Santa Monica manages large-scale public events, moving away from case-by-case approvals toward a structured, multi-year pipeline designed to attract international visitors, support local businesses, and raise the city’s global profile during an unprecedented period of regional attention. More details in this SMDP article and this City post, and here are the first three events that the City is focused on: |
| The first, dubbed the “Pitchside Club,” is a Michelob Ultra-sponsored World Cup fan experience planned for the Santa Monica Pier in June 2026. The free, 21-and-over activation will feature live match viewing parties, interactive soccer programming, and brand experiences during the FIFA tournament. The event is expected to run approximately three weeks, including load-in and load-out, and carry a license fee of roughly $1.09 million for use of the pier deck and adjacent operational areas.The second agreement authorizes negotiations with Goldenvoice — the AEG Presents subsidiary behind Coachella and Stagecoach — for a two-day music and cultural festival on Santa Monica Beach in fall 2026. The ticketed event could draw up to 35,000 attendees daily and would occupy the Sandbox, the pier parking deck, and portions of adjacent beach parking lots. The license fee for land use is set at approximately $1.34 million, with additional per-ticket revenue shares flowing to the city.The third agreement covers the most ambitious proposal: a 103-day “Nations Village” at Crescent Bay Park and portions of Lot 4 South during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Produced by international firm Hochsitz, the activation would include an International Olympic Committee satellite broadcast center, national Olympic committee hospitality houses, and public engagement zones. Its all-in license fee, covering land use, permitting, public safety, and operational costs, is set at $1.15 million. |
| The 2026/27 rent control renter’s increase for SaMo is expected to be 2.6% this year: The formula is based on 75% of the March CPI and we will share more details once the amount is confirmed. |
| Proposed Portal to Help Businesses Recover from Crime: Santa Monica businesses impacted by crime could soon have immediate access to City resources to help them recover & stay open. An item placed on the agenda by Councilmember Lana Negrete would create a centralized Business Crime Response & Recovery Portal & coordinated response system. More details here. |
| Taco Bell Cantina files permits to open in Downtown Santa Monica: The chain’s upscale urban spinoff featuring alcohol service and a modernized dining experience, has filed for commercial building permits to open a location at 318 Santa Monica Blvd., as the city continues to relax restrictions on formula retail to revitalize the area. The address is currently home to the Britannia Pub, a British bar and restaurant known for catering to Philadelphia sports fans. More details here on the plans and the relaxing of the ban on chain restaurants and more details here with comments from various city officials about the shift in thinking. |
| Santa Monica welcomes 24 new arts and culture producing partners for community activations: The Producing Partner Program is part of the city’s two-year Realignment Plan revitalization effort and complements a large-scale events plan announced in late 2025. Partners were identified through a request for proposals process launched in October 2025, with a panel of four professionals reviewing 28 submissions. Selected partners include 18th Street Arts Center, Blue Note Entertainment Group, dublab, Los Angeles Nomadic Division, McCabe’s, Santa Monica Pier Corporation, Superbloom Collective, and 17 others spanning a diverse range of genres and disciplines. More details here along with some of the events planned. |
| Early Results Shows the Entertainment Zone Is Working: This SaMoNext article highlights the recent council report about how “Surveys indicate strong support from restaurants and bars, which reported increased sales, while retailers were more mixed—some citing confusion over rules, such as restrictions on bringing drinks into stores. Residents also responded positively: about one-third said the EZ encouraged them to visit, and most viewed it as beneficial to the local economy.” |
| FREE Heavy Handed Burgers Today (Monday 4/20): They just launched a new app and are offering a free single burger today to new app users. Click here to download the app and use code ‘FREEBURGERDAY’ to redeem. |
| Interview: Chef Brian Bornemann on Crudo e Nudo’s 5th Anniversary and the Magic of Sustainable Dining: This SaMoMirror article covers a variety of topics with the chef of the excellent Main St. restaurant. |
| The Street Seen: Bristol Pier (Hollister Ave @ Ocean Front Walk): This is the second of three attempts to establish a privately owned amusement pier at the foot of Hollister Ave. Last week, we looked at the short-lived White Star Pier. This week, we are looking at a renovation of that old pier and a name change. More details here. |
| April 26 Deadline to Complete the SM Airport Conversion Project Survey: If you haven’t already taken the Framework Diagram Survey, there’s still time to help shape the future of Santa Monica Airport site. The survey and information about the conversion project is available here: SMACproject.com |
| Councilmember Lana Negrete Newsletter: Here is her weekly newsletter, with updates on public safety, economic development, education and community, housing, and more. |
Things to Do This Week
- The City of Santa Monica is hosting an Extreme Heat & Resilience Community Workshop (Tuesday): It’s a great chance to learn, share ideas, and connect with fellow community members who care about making Santa Monica cool and safe. The Office of Sustainability and the Environment will be using your input to inform a future Extreme Heat & Resilience Action Plan. Watch presentations from city staff, join round-table discussions, eat complimentary food, participate in engagement activities, and compete in a raffle for heat-related prizes. The workshop is free and dinner will be provided, but all attendees should register at this link.
- Santa Monica Symphony Open Rehearsal (Wednesday 6:45pm): Come meet Santa Monica Symphony musicians and have a hands-on experience with their instruments. Students are invited to sit right next to a musician during rehearsal. This is a great opportunity for young students to discover instruments offered in elementary and middle school. Free! All ages welcome. @ Grant Elementary School Auditorium, 2368 Pearl St.
- Stand Up for Democracy Comedy Fundraising Show (Thursday 7:30pm): OPA Board Member Tony Dimond is helping put on an unforgettable night of stand-up comedy packed with big laughs and even bigger impact. Every donation supports Field Team 6 — a volunteer-driven, grassroots organization registering Democratic voters in battleground states and flippable districts where it matters most. And every dollar turns into another Democratic vote. So you’re making a huge difference. @ Unurban Café, 3301 Pico Blvd. More details here.
- Great Parks Coalition Picnic (Saturday): The Great Park Coalition will host a community picnic at Clover Park to celebrate the centennial of the original land purchase, now the site of the Santa Monica Airport. The afternoon will bring together families and community members for a relaxed gathering, including free hot dogs, cold drinks, and cupcakes. (Please bring your own picnic and chairs or blanket.) There will be activities and exhibits, a giveaway of plants that attract and support pollinators.
OPA and City Meetings
- Architectural Review Board Meeting (Monday 7pm): More details here.
- Commission on Sustainability, Environmental Justice, and the Environment (Monday 7pm): More details here.
- OPA Connects Meeting (Wednesday 12pm): Here is the Zoom link.
Upcoming Calendar of Events
- Upcoming OPA Book Club Meetings: Planned dates are May 6 (Demon Copperhead), June 3 (Remarkably Bright Creatures), July 8 (Trust), Aug 5 (The Night Watchman). Email alexabarrett@gmail.com for more info. All meets are at 6pm at the Ocean Park Library (2601 Main St.).
- OPA Monthly Meeting: Monday, May 11, 6pm @ Ocean Park Library
- Want to Volunteer for Future OPA-Sponsored Heal The Bay Adopt-A-Beach Clean-Ups? Contact Dave Tann at dogtowndave@yahoo.com. He is the coordinator for the OPA/Heal The Bay events, always meeting at Tower 26. Dates this summer are 6/28, 7/26, & 8/30.
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