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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Cynthia Rose, the head of the local advocacy group SM Spoke, is a finalist for “Advocate of the Year” from the Alliance for Bicycling and Walking (the Alliance). The Alliance is a nation-wide bicycling advocacy organization. Rose is joined by…
I am pleased to announce the topic for our third Santa Monica Next Salon, where we pick the topic and you provide the stories. The next topic will be “There’s an app for that,” where readers can send us stories…
(If you’re looking to show support for the Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway and can’t make tomorrow’s meeting, Santa Monica Spoke has a good list of links and draft letters. – DN) With MANGo, the Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway proposal,…
Let’s believe our own eyes Know we’ve come to the end All our patience is gone Let’s admit we intend To believe our own eyes It might seem an odd way to begin a discussion of the Michigan Avenue Neighborhood…
Welcome to 2014! The Santa Monica Next team spent our two week holiday hiatus reloading for 2014. You can expect more voices, more coverage and an overall improved website from where we were when we launched last August. In addition…
Recognizing her role both as a local and regional leader on environmental and transportation issues, Streetsblog Los Angeles awarded Pam O’Connor the “Politician of the Year” Streetsie Award for 2013. Southern California Streets Initiative Board Chair Juan Matute* on Streetsblog…
While Phase II of the Expo Line isn’t expected to be completed until 2015, with revenue operations beginning in 2016, construction of Santa Monica’s first light rail project is well underway. Last week, I had a chance to tour some…
Friends, First, thank you all so much for reading and contributing to Santa Monica Next. The website is off to a great start, but thanks to a donation from the Vida Feliz Foundation, we’ll be able to expand the website…
Any discussion of how to get millennials more involved in civic decision making has to recognize one simple fact. The current generation of twenty somethings (and some early thirty somethings) is the first generation to grow up surrounded by digital…
Earlier this month, UNITE HERE Local 11, a non-profit representing hotel workers, struck a deal with a South Carolina’s OTO Development that will allow staff at two new mid-priced hotels to organize a union once construction is completed. In return,…
