Change 1: The SaMo Next Store
This week is going to see a lot of changes for Santa Monica Next. On Thursday, we’ll be announcing new staff and a new campaign. Over the weekend, we’ll be changing the skin of the website. But the first change…
Damien Newton
Damien is the executive director of the Southern California Streets Initiative which publishes Santa Monica Next, Streetsblog Los Angeles, Streetsblog San Francisco, Streetsblog California and Longbeachize.
Mayor Pam O’Connor Is the Focus of Glowing Piece in The Guardian
Yesterday, the Guardian’s online-American edition published an Earth-Day piece praising the City of Santa Monica for its efforts to work with businesses to create a healthy and sustainable city. While the piece explored some of the recent and not-so-recent history…
Register Now If You Want to Have a Voice in SaMo’s Biggest Political Endorsement
While the November election is still months away, your chance to make a meaningful impact this election season begins today. Members of Santa Monica’s single-most powerful political organization will decide on August 3 who the group, Santa Monicans for Renters’…
SMO Supporters Succeeding in Uniting SaMo…Against Ballot Proposal That Would Halt Efforts to Close Airport
Calling a proposed ballot initiative that would over-ride the City Council’s efforts to examine the closure of the Santa Monica Airport “all about perpetuating private benefits at the airport,” the influential Santa Monicans for Renters Rights is urging its members to…
Featured Events, Spring Break Edition: Sustainable Works Opening, Commission Meetings, Kind Mama
For ninety days in 2012, environmentalist and educator Peter Kreitler walked the same one quarter mile stretch of Santa Monica Beach collecting flotsam and debris that floated in from the ocean or was left on the beach. Pieces of this collected trash…
Why SaMo Should Care What L.A.’s Councilmember Bonin Thinks.
Friday night, Angelenos Against Gridlock (AAG) will host a fireside chat with Mike Bonin, the City Councilmember representing the Westside of Los Angeles. he event will take place at the Moss Theater at New Roads school, with a reception beginning at 6:45…
Throwback Thursday: Santa Monica Critical Mass
For those that don’t know, Critical Mass is a monthly bike ride that takes place on the 4th Friday of the month. The purpose of the ride is to gather so many cyclists that drivers can’t ignore them, buzz them…
Modern Bus Stops Coming to Santa Monica. Watch Them Grow and Share Your Pictures
Santa Monica has a regional reputation for working diligently to create a modern, world-class menu of transportation options. While so much of the transportation debate online and in newspapers revolves around car traffic congestion and parking, this smallish city offers…
New Petition Circulating to Turn Bergamot Area Into Airport
A new group known as Arts2Airport announced a new ballot referendum that would rezone the Bergamot Arts Center, renovating or removing the existing buildings to serve air-oriented uses. The initiative, announced on the website of the American Owners and Pilots…
Looking for an Intern to Help Research the Facts Surrounding SMO
We’re looking for a journalism/political science/English/writing/planning student who wants to tackle a large research project this summer. While we don’t have the funding to pay for the project, we can work with your college to make sure you earn college…
City Staff Asks for O.K. to Begin Work on July 2015 SMO Closure
The jet plane roars overhead. I sneak a peak at the sleeping child in the stroller next to me. She stirs, but doesn’t move. Another jet, literally moments later, passes overhead. This time she wakes up screaming. For some reason,…
#TreeHugSamo Winner Announced, and Some Links on SaMo’s Urban Forest
Apparently, unless you actually are Jerry Rubin, it’s hard to get adults to hug trees and be photographed while doing it. We received only a handful of submissions for the #TreeHugSaMo photo contest, but enough that we can declare a…
#TreeHugSaMo Contest Extended!
Originally timed to coincide with Jerry Peace Activist Rubin’s “Tree Hugging Day,” we did get a couple of great submissions. But since I spent my day working on fixing the website (the problem was our calendar was mis-firing, FWIW) and…
With Petition Filed, There’s Time for Bergamot to Cool Off
Last week, a coalition of community based organizations turned in a petition to create a referendum to overturn a 4-3 City Council vote to allow the redevelopment of the old Papermate site at Bergamot Station. Residocracy, Santa Monicans for Renter’s Rights…
Join the #treehugSaMo Photo Contest Tomorrow
Tomorrow is Tree Hugging Day in Santa Monica. Thanks to the efforts of Jerry Peace Activist Rubin, Santa Monicans have had a chance to officially hug a tree once a year since 2009. While Santa Monica Next is not strictly…