The Election is Over … For Nov. 2 Howl-O-Ween Movie: The voting was super tight between Beetlejuice, Coco, and the original Ghostbusters (1984). After multiple hand recounts, Ghostbusters has been officially certified as the winner! Lincoln Middle School Madrigals will kick off the evening at 5:45pm with a 15 minute medley of halloween carols before a showing It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, followed by the original Ghostbusters! The movies and popcorn are free, but *BYO whatever else you want (food, drink, lawn chairs, blankets). Click here to RSVP to the movie and/or pet costume contest.
NEXT WEEK: Oct. 30 Housing Committee Ballot Measure Meeting: Join for a conversation about Measures on the ballot that have a housing component. The group will discuss 1) What is the Measure 2) What does a Yes/No vote mean, and 3) Discussion on State Measure 5, State Measure 33, County Measure A, and SaMo Measure F (funds to be directed toward homeless services). The meeting is at Ashland Hill (2807 Main St.) Wednesday Oct. 30 @ 5:15pm. Click here to email Robbie Leer for more details if interested in attending.
The Blue Notebook – A Weekly SMPD Recap Oct. 12- 18: Here is the weekly SMPD blog update of police activity for the past week.
Santa Monica Launches Community Website for Homelessness Strategic Plan: The City has introduced a dedicated webpage to provide updates and information on its Homelessness Strategic Plan (HSP), a comprehensive initiative aimed at improving the city’s response to homelessness. This SaMo.gov blog post details their new site that houses “background on the HSP, project milestones, upcoming community meetings, and all of the latest updates.”
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day (Saturday 10am – 2pm): Approximately 60,000 emergency department visits annually result from children under 6 finding and ingesting medication. Too often, unused prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands, which is dangerous and often tragic. National Take-Back Day is a safe, convenient, and responsible way to dispose of unused or expired prescription drugs. @ Santa Monica Public Safety Facility, 333 Olympic Dr. (between 4th and Main Streets). More details here.
Election / Voting News:
- Oscar de la Torre Faced Multiple Accusations of Racism in Tuesday’s Council Meeting: Here is SMDP’s recap of this week’s very heated City Council meeting.
- Ballot Measures Made Simple Deck: Here is the deck that was used for the recent OPA meeting focused on explaining all the ballot measures.
- Measure K: This Santa Monica Next article in favor it, details “the measure would raise an estimated $6,700,000 annually by placing an additional 8% tax on parking fees charged by a parking facility operator. This will bring the tax to 18%, and because city-owned lots are exempt from the city’s parking facilities tax, the city estimates that most of the increased rates will be paid by visitors and tourists.”
- SaMo City Council Candidate Forum Video: Here is a link to the video of the two-hour Forum that all 10 candidates participated in on Sept. 8.
- Check on Your Voter Registration Status: If you are unsure of your voter registration status go to https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/ to find your current status.
- In Person Voting: In person voting starts Saturday, Oct. 26, 10am – 7pm at Civic Center parking Structure 2nd floor (330 Olympic Dr.). In person in Ocean Park is Nov. 2 -5 at at Joslyn Park (633 Kensington) and Washington Pre-School (2728 4th St.) 10am – 7pm on Sat, Sun, and Mon and 7am – 8pm Tuesday.
- Ballot Box Voting: Ballots can be dropped off 24 hours per day at any participating vote by mail ballot box location in the county. The Ocean Park ballot box is at Ocean View Park (2701 Barnard Way).
- Ballot Tracking: You can track the progress of your mailed in ballot at https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/
- There are many other details that may be necessary to vote (replacement ballots, not receiving ballot in the mail, mobility access issues etc.etc.). See https://www.lavote.gov/home/voting-elections/current-elections/find-my-election-information for additional help voting.
Things To Do This Weekend:
- Swim Center Spooky Splash Spectacular: Dive into our Floating Pumpkin Patch, brave the Sharks Haunted House, and test your skills on the Floating Obstacle Course. Enjoy Spooky Flicks, arts & crafts, treats, and more. Don’t miss out on this family-friendly event packed with fun activities, food trucks, and recreational swimming! Friday, Oct. 25, 5:00 – 8:00p.m., Santa Monica Swim Center, 2225 16th St. More details here.
- SMPD Halloween Movie in the Park: Face painting begins at 5:00p.m. and The Nightmare Before Christmas movie is scheduled to start at 6:30p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25 at the Colorado Center Park on Broadway/26th St. More details here.
- Downtown Dia de los Muertos Celebration: The festivities feature live entertainment, public art, a Latinx pop-up market, community altars, kids arts and crafts, face painting and games for all ages (and pups too!). Saturday, Oct. 26 2:00 – 8:00p.m., Third Street Promenade More details here.
- Heal the Bay Fishy Fest: Pick Up Your Trick-or-Treat Treasure Map and embark on a candy-filled adventure along the beautiful SaMo Pier. And join the family-friendly Halloween fun at Heal the Bay Aquarium to explore the “Ghoulish Green Room,” Deep-Sea Creature Lab, and Ocean Graveyard. Spooktacular Story Time is Saturday, Oct. 26, 2:00p.m., and the Pier Trick-or-Treat Treasure Hunt is Sunday, Oct. 27, 12:00 – 3:45p.m. More details here.
- The Penmar Halloween Spooktacular (Saturday 4pm): The concert Halloween party features The Horny Toad Live, a costume contest & prizes, and more. 1233 Rose Ave. More details here. They also have their Sunset Sessions Friday @ 6pm (more details here).
- Main St. Farmers Market (Sunday 8:30am – 1:30pm): Join us for local favorites, DJ and the Main Street Jam 10am-1pm!! B2R Instrument Petting Zoo will be on the lawn! Kids, make sure to wear your costumes and get a market dollar from the info booth. Make sure to visit the Fat Uncle Farms pop up with organic almonds and heirlooom wheat flour baking and snacking supplies!!
- More Things to Do: Click here to check out my weekly “Around Town” SMDP column for even more things to do this busy Halloween weekend.
