News from Santa Monica.
Last evening, the Santa Monica City Council unanimously passed the Downtown Santa Monica Inc. (DTSM Inc.) budget. The budget includes a contract with Covered 6 Security for a one year program to add security, including at least one lethally armed…
Ridership on the Expo Line (now called the E Line, but we’re holdouts) has continued to grow as ridership across the L.A. Metro rail and bus lines continue to rebound from the lows of the pandemic. Compared to a year…
Staff at the City of Santa Monica are actively working on creating an e-bike rebate program using state funds to make it easier for low-income residents to purchase an electronic motor assisted bicycle. The city has been informed it will…
Yesterday, UNITE HERE Local 11 (the union) filed an initiative in Santa Monica that would require hotels to pay their workers $30 an hour. As the union prepares for another round of strikes over what they say are unfairly low…
For over two decades, Barnes and Nobles bookstore was one of the center posts of the Promenade, doing business at 3rd and Wilshire. The big box bookstore closed in 2017, not because of crime or the future pandemic, but simply…
Yesterday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed legislation authored by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, designed to strengthen renter protections at a time when many COVID-era protections are expiring. The protections passed yesterday will only impact renters in the…
Though it lacked the support of committee chair and Assemblymember Luz Rivas and a majority of the Democrats on the committee, S.B. 423 advanced out of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee yesterday. While the 6-0 vote might appear unanimous, four…
Yesterday, 15,000 hotel workers, including many in Los Angeles, walked off the job to join a strike against hotel owners at the start of one of the busiest holidays of the year. The workers are demanding increased wages, both immediate…
Santa Monica Next will be publishing regularly today, be off tomorrow and return with a normal publishing schedule the rest of the week. We wish everyone a happy, festive and safe 4th of July.
At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, much of the discussion was on either public safety or the city’s response to the homeless crisis. Councilmember Oscar de la Torre wanted assurances that the city’s regional partners in the County, Malibu and…
On the face of it, the case of Pico Neighborhood Association and Maria Loya vs the City of Santa Monica seems like an open and shut case. The plaintiffs are arguing that by having city-wide elections instead of district based…
Last night, the Santa Monica City Council passed the annual budget for the fiscal year beginning on Saturday, July 1 and ending June 30, 2024. Issues surrounding public safety, ranging from funding optional jiu-jitsu classes to a proposal to just…
As required by city ordinance, Santa Monica’s minimum wage will increase from $15.96 to $16.90 per hour on July 1, 2023, the first day of the fiscal new year. The minimum wage applies to all employees physically working in Santa…
In November of 2018, Malibu voters passed Measure M with 71% of the vote, a bond measure to create a state-of-the-art middle school and new high school building on the former Juan Cabrillo Elementary site. While the new high school…
Tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of Pico Neighborhood Association, Maria Loya vs. City of Santa Monica. The plaintiff in the case is looking to the courts to force the…
