OPA Membership Drive: If you enjoy this newsletter and all the events and community work OPA is leading (like this past weekend’s Soulstice Festival), please help our efforts by becoming a member or making a donation. Most memberships are $20/year but there is also a $10/year option. CLICK HERE TO JOIN OR DONATE.
OPA T-Shirts: Our new AWOL (Always West of Lincoln) shirts that we introduced this weekend at the SOULstice Festival were a big hit! We still have a few left. Cost is $20 for OPA members, $30 for non-members or $10 for new members signing up this month. Reply to this email or click here to email Sean for more info.
Upcoming OPA Calendar of Events:
- Beach Clean-Up Day (July 28)
- National Night Out (Aug 4)
- OPA Summer Happy Hour (tentatively Aug 22)
- Day of the Dog Festival (Sept 7 – Main St. closed to vehicles)
OPA Heal the Bay Beach Clean-Up Sunday July 28: The event run 10am – 12pm, starting at Tower 26 (end of Ocean Park Blvd at the beach). All needed supplies are provided. Parents, students, families and neighbors are all welcome. Email Dave Tann with questions.
4-Year-Old Abducted @ Panda Express on Lincoln; Quickly Found by SMPD at Holiday Motel on 11th St. & Pico: “A woman was taken into custody Friday after a 4-year-old child she allegedly abducted was found by officers at a motel in Santa Monica. The child was abducted at approximately 12:11 p.m. from a Panda Express restaurant in the 1900 block of Lincoln Boulevard while in the care of her grandmother, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. The grandmother was ordering food when 31-year-old Clarissa Sheilds lured the child away and walked her down the street.” More details in this NBC4 report and this SaMo.gov release.
Just the Facts — SMPD Launches New Blog: “Did you know police officers transported 255 individuals to a hospital for mental health evaluations last year? Or that you can find that fact on a new blog the Santa Monica Police Department began posting on the City’s website Wednesday titled ‘Did You Know?'” More details here.
DineLA Restaurant Week: This summer’s event runs July 12-26 with hundreds of local restaurants offering special lunch and dinner menus. Some SaMo offerings include high end spots like Citrin, Fia Steak, and Via Veneto, and more casual options like Bludo’s BBQ, Colapasta, and Uovo. https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/dinela
SMmirror Highlights Tartine Bakery Opening on Lincoln Blvd.: This SMmirror article details some of the offerings specific to this location from the “World-renowned Bay Area based eatery franchise.” “Menu items specific to the new Westside outpost are French Toast made with Tartine’s croissant bread, seasonal stone fruit, and maple syrup; Soft Scramble Tartine with labneh, white cheddar, smoked trout roe, and horseradish on country bread; and a Croque Madame packing gruyere, black forest ham, bechamel, and dijon between slices of country bread topped with melty gruyere and a sunny egg.” Note that the article mistakenly places it Venice, but it is really in Santa Monica @ 2903 Lincoln Blvd.
SMDP Profiles Ten Women Gallery: This write-up states “Three decades of female artistry continues to brighten Main Street.”
July is National Parks & Recreation Month: The City’s new Parks & Rec Director, Jenny Rogers, published this blog post detailing some of the many goings on, including the Annenberg Community Beach House’s chill summer events, Santa Monica Swim Center summer events, and the Endless Summer C.A.M.P. and Americana in the Park summer concert series.
Things To Do This Week:
- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer with Matt Walsh -discussing her memoir, True Gretch (Monday 8pm): What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between From trailblazing Michigan governor and rising Democratic star Gretchen Whitmer comes an unconventionally honest, personal, and funny account of her remarkable life and career. @ New Roads School, 3131 Olympic Blvd. https://livetalksla.org/events/gretchen-whitmer/
- Free Walk-In Legal Clinic (Wednesday 4:30 – 7pm): Santa Monica residents can meet one on one with a lawyer from Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles for help with HOUSING issues. More details here.
- Housing Programs Office Hours at Virginia Avenue Park (Wednesday 4:30pm): Housing staff will be available for monthly “Office Hours” to assist applicants, in English and Spanish, with questions about the City’s Below Market Housing (BMH) and Preserving Our Diversity (POD) programs. These sessions will take place on select Wednesdays at Virginia Avenue Park (VAP) from May to August. The goal of this effort is to better support community members that wish to connect with staff in-person about these programs but are unable to make it to City Hall during normal business hours. More details here.
- Sunset Picnic @ Annenberg Beach House (Thursday 5 – 8pm): “Pack your favorite picnic dinner, fancy or casual, bring your family and friends, and your fun activities – games, dominoes, checkers. Enjoy a fun, casual beachfront summer evening with a musical duo vibing in the background and S’mores for dessert. (no glass or alcohol are allowed).” @ 415 Pacific Coast Highway More details here.
OPA & City Meetings:
- Commission on Sustainability, Environmental Justice, and the Environment (Monday 7pm): More details here.
- Library Board Meeting (Tuesday 6pm): More details & agenda here.
- City Hosting Preserving Our Diversity (POD) Program Information Session (Tuesday 6:30pm): The goal of the POD program is to help low-income, long-term Santa Monica senior renters with monthly cash assistance to meet their basic needs. This information session is intended for residents to learn more about the program, eligibility, and the application process. More details here.
- OPA Connects Meeting (Wednesday 12pm): Here is the Zoom link.
- Recreation & Parks Commission Commission Meeting (Thursday 6pm): Click Here for agenda.
