News from Santa Monica.
Last night, the Santa Monica Democratic Club held its annual endorsement meeting, and, in a sign of both how hotly contested this year’s election will be and the rightward drift of its membership, it failed to reach consensus on any…
Every week Santa Monica Next republishes a story from City Manager Oliver Chi’s newsletter. There’s a new reason to love Friday nights in Santa Monica! Our Recreation and Arts Department’s Community Recreation Division has partnered with two outstanding local youth…
COAST 2026 (Sunday): The revival of the COAST Open Streets festival will serve as the grand finale for Santa Monica’s soccer celebrations. Spanning from the Promenade and Metro E Line station across to Ocean Park, Colorado, Arizona and the iconic Santa…
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, directed staff to negotiate a Civic Auditorium deal with concert giant Golden Voice, and adopted…
The following is a submission from the Police Activities League. Santa Monica Police Activities League (PAL) celebrated the academic achievements and future aspirations of local youth during its annual Chris Carrey PAL Education Fund Recognition Dinner on Thursday, July 9,…
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, a project that runs between Ocean Avenue and 26th Street to repave the street and…
(Follow Todd’s socials LinkTree.) In April, I marked 29 years living in Santa Monica. In that time, I’ve enjoyed careers in public and government affairs, corporate philanthropy, manufacturing, journalism, and now, travel. I’ve been a travel agent and advisor for…
The following was submitted as a “Letter to the Editor” by Ted Winterer. Community for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS) has voted on its endorsements for this fall’s election to seats on the SMMUSD Board of Education and the SMC Board of Trustees.…
The following is a submission from Santa Monica Forward. Santa Monica Forward is proud to endorse Caroline Torosis, Eli Gill, and Brett Morrow for Santa Monica City Council in November 2026, three leaders with the record, urgency, and expertise to…
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, all-ages event will transform more than a mile of Downtown Santa Monica—including the Third Street Promenade,…
The Wall Street Journal and MSN checked in on Santa Monica’s economic struggles caused in large part by the decline in retail shopping nationally that’s impacted the Promenade, the global pandemic, and the decline in international tourism in recent years…
(Every week, Santa Monica Next republishes an article from City Manager Oliver Chi’s newsletter) This past week, our team in Community Development published fresh data to our Housing Progress Dashboard which provides the clearest current picture of housing production in…
The nomination period for three seats on the Santa Monica City Council, three seats on the Rent Control Board, four seats on the Santa Monica-Malibu School District Board and four seats on the Santa Monica College District Board opens on…
As America was fighting its war against the British in 1812, the commander of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Major George Armistead, commissioned a local seamstress named Mary Pickersgill to sew a large flag to fly over the citadel. Bringing together…
OPA Membership Drive: If you enjoy this newsletter and all the events and community work OPA is leading (like the recent SOULstice street festival & this weekend’s Parade), please help our efforts by becoming a member or making a donation. Most memberships are $20/year…
