| NEXT Sunday (Aug 23): First Ocean Park Farmer’s Market on Main Street: |
| Main St. will be closed to traffic from 6am-4pmMore than a dozen food trucks are expectedThe Entertainment Zone will be activated for peoiple who want to enjoy an adult beverage |
| OPA August Monthly Meeting Recap: Here is the full meeting recording that included a talk with State Senate candidate Brian Goldsmith about his background and why he is running for office (here), a talk with Rent Control Commissioner Ericka Lesley about the rent control ballot initiative details and tenant eviction protections (here), and more details on the Sunday Farmers Market moving ONTO Main St. with a test run of that planned for Aug. 23 (here). |
| New Owners Bring in a New Deli to Revive Main Street’s Santa Monica Market: In the summer of 2024, the more than 30-year-old convenience store at 2015 Main Street formerly known as Santa Monica Farms Jr. gained new owners and a new name: Santa Monica Market. Two years later, the family-owned store launched a deli counter, carefully curating a selection of healthy, high-quality and customer-requested goods. Owner Amarilia Pivaral and her family bought the market in a state of disrepair, requiring them to replace equipment and make numerous changes. “We saw the opportunity to work on it and bring very good stuff for the neighborhood, and little by little we started to make the changes,” Pivaral said. She estimated that about 90% of the store has changed since the family acquired it two years ago. More details here. |
| Four Things to Know About Santa Monica’s New Homeless Strategy: This one-minute SaMoMiror video report details four things to know as the City moves to a locally controlled system instead of relying mainly on the county. |
| Santa Monica bets on concert giant AEG to reopen its Civic Auditorium: The City Council voted Tuesday unanimously to authorize an exclusive negotiating agreement with concert giant AEG Presents and its Goldenvoice subsidiary to study whether the shuttered Santa Monica Civic Auditorium can be revived as a live entertainment venue, advancing a 17-year effort to reopen the landmark even as critics warned the city was bypassing an open bidding process. More details here. |
| Santa Monica Kicks Off Coastal Plan Public Process: City Manager Oliver Chi’s weekly newsletter highlights that “The launch of this effort is of real significance for the City. Santa Monica has never had a fully certified Local Coastal Program. We have a certified Land Use Plan dating all the way back to 1992, but we’ve never been able to complete the second half of the requirement, known as the Implementation Plan (which functions as the zoning ordinance for the Coastal Zone).” More details here. |
| Santa Monica Launches Two-Year Vision Plan for Beach and Pier: City planners have begun crafting a long-term blueprint for the future of Santa Monica’s beach and its landmark pier, launching a roughly two-year effort that will cover nearly 250 acres of the city’s most heavily used public space. Senior Park Planner Tony Lopez introduced the Beach and Pier Vision Plan to the Planning Commission on July 15, describing the project as the first step in a lengthy process expected to reshape how residents and visitors experience the coastline. The initiative grows directly out of the city’s broader Parks and Recreation Vision Plan, which the City Council adopted in January. Lopez said that plan has already produced results, including cross-department grant awards and more than $200,000 in park improvements guided by its prioritization matrices. The beach and pier effort was identified as “action number four” within that document. More details here. |
| SMRR Endorses Torosis, Ivanov for Council: Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMMR) endorsed Mayor Caroline Tororis and Rent Control Board member Danny Ivanov at the group’s annual convention Sunday, but failed to make a third endorsement in the race for three open City Council seats. More details here. |
| Santa Monica Forward Endorses Torosis, Gill, & Morrow for City Council: “Santa Monica Forward is proud to endorse Caroline Torosis, Eli Gill, and Brett Morrow for Santa Monica City Council in November 2026, three leaders with the record, urgency, and expertise to make this city affordable, vibrant, and safe for everyone who calls it home.” More details here. |
| CPA Solar and Battery Access Program: Clean Power Alliance (CPA) has launched the Solar and Battery Access program which offers rooftop solar and batteries to residents of LA County. The program is available to CPA residential customers who own their home and who are at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). More details here. |
| Councilmember Lana Negrete Newsletter: Here is her weekly newsletter with updates on Public Safety, Economic Development, Education, Around Town & Community Highlights, Election & Voting, and more. |
