News from Santa Monica.
MAIN STREET WILL BE CLOSED TO VEHICLES SUNDAY AM for the 50th Annual The Festival of Chariots Celebrates Ancient Indian Tradition (Sunday 10 am): Dancers in colorful clothing, music, a multicourse feast, 40-foot tall hand-drawn floats — The Festival of Chariots will…
Update, July 31 – SMMUSD responded to this story with a letter, reprinted here, that takes issue with several pieces of this story. We have reached out to the Coastal Commission for comment. In January, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School…
Last month, the City of Santa Monica has terminated lease negotiations with California Roadhouse for the former Rusty’s Surf Ranch space on the Santa Monica Pier, saying the company failed to accept employee protection provisions required by the City Council,…
The number of people experiencing homelessness in Santa Monica fell by nearly 12 percent over the past year, according to the 2026 Point-in-Time Count released by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) on Friday. The local numbers bucked the…
Last week, Mayor Caroline Torosis delivered the State of the City for Santa Monica. Below are her prepared remarks. Good evening, Santa Monica. A few days ago, thousands of us gathered on Ocean Avenue for COAST. Tonight, we are here…
Photo: Juan Matute Santa Monica residents will have a chance to take part in one of the city’s most visible civic projects in decades. During this week’s State of the City address, city officials announced that community members will be…
Waymos — the driverless taxis that operate in many cities — are involved in 68-percent fewer crashes than humans, a new independent study found. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report compared state and federal crash data with incident reports from major…
Golden Voice sent Next an email asking us to pass along this information to make your ticket purchases easier… SM Residents: How To Purchase During The Resident Presale Insider Tips:
Santa Monica’s efforts to redefine itself as a destination for entertainment and experiences rather than primarily shopping and dining will take another major step this September with the debut of the Ocean Way Festival. City officials and festival promoter Goldenvoice…
Every week, Santa Monica Next re-publishes a story from the City Manager’s Newsletter. This week, the story has been slightly edited because the newsletter was published on Sunday, and the opening happened yesterday. Santa Monica has officially launched Santa Monica…
The Santa Monica COAST open streets event returned yesterday after an eight-year hiatus, as part of the city’s celebration of the final World Cup game of 2026. Yesterday’s event had more of a “really big street fair” vibe than the…
The following is a submission from the City of Santa Monica. Image: Dopamine, Primeras Impesiones by Nicolette Spear. Six Los Angeles County-based artists have been chosen as the 2026-2027 cohort for the city of Santa Monica Artist Residency Program, formerly…
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…
