Damien Newton
376 POSTS
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.
Exclusive articles:
Council Briefs: Ballot Measures for SMMUD, Tenant Protections, Progress on the Civic, Punt on SB 79 and More…
Santa Monica Next received an AI assist in creating this story.Santa Monica City Council placed two school-funding and tenant-protection measures on the November ballot,...
Eyes on the Street: Protected Bikeways Have Arrived at 26th and Broadway
All images by Cynthia Rose.As any regular reader of Santa Monica Next can tell you, we’ve been very excited about the Broadway Safety Project,...
Council to Consider School Funding Parcel Tax for November Ballot
The Santa Monica City Council will officially decide Tuesday (Agenda, Item 11a) whether to place a proposed school funding parcel tax before voters this...
Santa Monica COAST World Cup Finale Will Open Downtown Streets on 7/19
Santa Monica's six-week FIFA World Cup celebration wraps up with COAST 2026 on Sunday, July 19, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The free,...
Environmental Justice Group Sues Over California’s New Cap-and-Trade Rules
Just days after California’s controversial overhaul of its cap-and-trade (called cap-and-invest by Governor Gavin Newsom’s office) program took effect, an environmental justice organization has...
Latest
Tonight’s City Council Meeting Is Cancelled
The regularly scheduled meeting of the Santa Monica City...
OPA Update 8/24/26: OPA Membership Drive, SB 79 Community Information Meeting Tonight, OPA Beach Cleanup This Weekend, & Things To Do This Week
OPA released its newsletter after our publication deadline yesterday....
SB 79 Community Information Meeting Set for Tomorrow, August 25. Council Action to Follow on 9/8
(Every week, Next republishes a story from City Manager...
BBB Earns Another $3 Million for Electrification Efforts
Santa Monica’s push to fully electrify the Big Blue...

