| September OPA Monthly Meeting Next Monday (Sept 14): 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, and here’s the schedule: |
| 6:00 – 6:30: Food, refreshments and mingling6:30 – 7:30: Guest Speakers:SaMo Police DepartmentSaMo Fire DepartmentWestside Food BankJacob Wasserman from the Planning Commission7:30 – 8:30: Board business, including the upcoming calendar of events. |
| Learn the History of Jadis on Main St.: You know that funky shop on Main Street at the corner of Hill Street? Jadis, the store with all the funky contraptions in the window. Parke Meek co-founded Jadis with Susan Lieberman back in 1976 and before that he worked for Charles and Ray Eames at their design studio in Venice for 25 years. He was the gifted wizard who fabricated all the concepts they came up with. He could make anything, fix anything, light anything or run the camera on a movie about toy trains. Parke turned Eames dreams into reality. “Filled to the brim with antique scientific instruments and sci-fi movie paraphernalia, jAdis at 2701 Main Street is part film prop rental shop, part science history museum and part retail store. Above all things, it’s an extensive collection that speaks to the passion and character of one man, founder Parke Meek.” More details here in Richard Orton’s monthly newsletter. |
| Latter Day Saints Church Move Out: Apparently the church at 2301 2nd St (@ Strand) moved out of the building about 3 weeks ago, taking all of the furniture. It will be interesting to see what develops of the building their big vacant poarking lot on Main St. that they also own. For background on the property, here is Mark Gorman’s Street Seen from 2023 detailing its history. |
| New State Housing Rules Paused in Most Santa Monica Transit Areas: The City Council adopted its SB 79 exclusion ordinance July 28, and it became effective Aug. 27. The ordinance delays the law’s application until 2030 on qualifying sites in six of Santa Monica’s seven transit-oriented-development zones. More details here. |
| Santa Monica Public Library celebrates Library Card Sign-Up Month with special-edition cards and local business discounts: A Santa Monica Public Library card provides free access to books, music, movies, video games, databases, study rooms and other resources. Cardholders also receive access to exclusive offers from local businesses through the Library’s Read Local, Shop Local: Community Discount Program. The program returns for its second year. Returning partners include Bike Attack Electric, Crow Comedy, Good Body Pilates, Offhand Wine Bar, Santa Monica History Museum, Solidarity, Sweet Lady Jane and The Curious Palate, along with several other restaurants, retailers and service providers. New partners joining the program this year include AJA Vineyards, Alinea Orthodontics, Backyard Bowls, Chick-fil-A Santa Monica, Crossroads Trading, Harvelle’s, Love Tap, Road Runner Sports and The Spot. More details here. |
| Santa Monica celebrates Sustainable September 2026: Every day, Santa Monicans make choices that contribute to a healthier, greener and more resilient community. But individual action is only part of our sustainability story. The city is also integrating sustainable practices across the community by pursuing ambitious goals for carbon neutrality, water self-sufficiency and zero waste, while preparing for the impacts of a changing climate. That work includes advancing environmental justice, protecting natural resources, supporting a sustainable local economy and ensuring the benefits of a healthier community are shared by everyone. That’s what Sustainable September 2026 is all about. In fact, there’s so much happening this year that Sustainable September is stretching well beyond September, with events and opportunities continuing throughout October. More details here along with a list of events. |
| Sept 8th City Council Study Session: Transitioning Vision Zero to a Safe Systems Approach: “Next Tuesday, September 8, Santa Monica City Council Agenda item 11B will be a Vision Zero Study Session focused on transitioning to a Safe System Approach and charting an updated direction for future roadway safety priorities. Advancing Vision Zero, by shifting the Paradigm for Safe Mobility.” More details here. |
| SMMUSD September Meeting Summary: The board approved an emergency resolution granting staff authority to accelerate HVAC repairs at Santa Monica High School and other district sites, as teachers and union representatives described classrooms reaching 80 degrees during a recent heat wave. The meeting also included a $5.87 million construction contract amendment for the Samohi student services building, adoption of a National Hispanic Latino Heritage Month resolution, and a presentation on academic progress at John Adams Middle School. More details here. |
| Santa Monica appoints new City Clerk; Walfred Solorzano: Solorzano has worked in local government for more than two decades, with nearly a decade of experience as a City Clerk, Assistant City Clerk or Deputy City Clerk. He served as City Clerk for the city of Sausalito from December 2022 to July 2026 and has been serving as Interim City Clerk for the city of Lodi since July 28. Before Sausalito, he was Assistant City Clerk for the city of Half Moon Bay and had previously worked for other cities throughout California. More details here. |
| Former Santa Monica tech CEO added to FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list: Talk about a top 10 list nobody aspires to be on! Former Santa Monica tech executive convicted of defrauding investors out of millions of dollars has been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list after fleeing the country ahead of his sentencing, federal officials announced. Bernhard Eugen Fritsch, 65, founder and CEO of Santa Monica-based StarClub Inc., is one of three fugitives added to the newly formed list, according to Patrick Grandy, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. More details here. |
| Councilmember Dan Hall Newsletter: Here is his weekly newsletter, with his thoughts on news in and around the city over the past week, upcoming calendar of events, and much more. |
