News from Santa Monica.
Tucked away in the “consent calendar” for next Tuesday’s City Council meeting is a funding proposal to allocate another $327,969 to AG Coast (dba Panther Security) for an increased security presence on the pier on weekends to help the city…
Earlier today, I had a chance to sit down with Tom Huang, the filmmaker behind Dealing with Dad, which will be screening at Laemmle Monica Film Center (schedule) from May 19 through May 25. I’m biased, I’m an extra in…
After last year’s rent increase of 6.4%, the highest increase in Santa Monica in over four decades; the city passed Measure RC to try and prevent a similarly large increase from happening this year. In the first year after a…
This Monday, we’ve been working on several small issues for Santa Monica Next, including removing the “dynamic ads” from our website. As a result, we haven’t had a chance to update the content of the website. We’ll return to our…
Now that the dust has settled from last week’s City Council meeting where the Council unanimously approved a settlement with WS Communities, here’s a quick look at where things stand with the fourteen properties owned by WS today. From when…
This settlement does not allow for new development, it limits new development – Caroline Torosis. Last night, the Santa Monica City Council approved a settlement with WS, a developer who had submitted 13 of the 16 “Builder’s Remedy” projects. Builder’s…
Tomorrow, Wednesday May 10, is the last day to give comment on the City of Santa Monica’s “Reframe: City Hall Mural” public process. “History of Santa Monica and the Bay District,” is a mural that appears inside the City Hall…
During the Builder’s Remedy debacle, when the city temporarily lost zoning authority because it passed a zoning plan that didn’t conform to state standards; 16 large developments earned automatic approval that were oversized compared to what the city would allow…
Yesterday, the City of Santa Monica released the results of the 2023 homeless count. Unsurprisingly, the count showed an increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness: 926 people experiencing homelessness were counted this year, up 15 percent from the…
The Santa Monica Daily Press recently published an article by its editor Matthew Hall that had an eye-catching claim of an 8% vacancy rate in Santa Monica in the headline. Hall presents the information as though he did research that…
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the Council voted on new rules to make it easier to hold block parties and to plan up to four open streets events (COAST) per year. To fast forward to the portion of the meeting…
This should have been a slam dunk. It should have been a night to celebrate one of the things that makes Santa Monica great: its commitment to inclusion. But after several councilmembers questioned an ordinance that will require gender neutral…
“Queremos trabajar, no queremos lotería,” vendors chanted as City Hall remained silent. Three dozen street vendors and a handful of advocates rallied in front of and inside City Hall yesterday, April 24 to demand better treatment and access for vendors…
In 2022, Santa Monica’s state senator Ben Allen passed a bill that granted cities authority to require new or renovated public toilet facilities within its jurisdiction to be designated as all-gender. The Cities of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and West…
Early this morning when I met my running group at Ocean and Arizona Avenues, our usual parking and meeting area was noticeably changed. Ocean Ave was covered in new, smooth, blacktop and the road markings were mostly gone with spray…
