Editorials, letters to the editor, and other community opinions about Santa Monica.
(Last week, Santa Monica Next discussed a flyer circulating in the Ocean Park/Downtown neighborhoods by a group called Save Main Street. Usually, Next doesn’t allow for Letters to the Editor to be unsigned, but after a discussion over emails I…
The following is a republication of Councilmember Dan Hall’s newsletter. It is reprinted with permission. Subscribe to get it sent straight to your inbox, here! Adopted in 2016, Santa Monica’s Vision Zero set an ambitious goal: zero fatal and severe-injury traffic crashes…
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” Like so many pithy lines attributed to British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, this is yet another he never actually said. However, it does echo his famous speech to the British people as they…
The following op/ed, by E-Bike Access’ Bob Mittelstaedt, first appeared at Streetsblog California. It’s become a common headline no matter where you live in the state. So many crashes are attributed to “e-bikes” that it looks like an e-bike epidemic. …
Knowledge Is Power I have long been fascinated with how tenaciously authorities have worked throughout history to deny books, and even the ability to read, to particular segments of their populace. Or, they have chosen to make the written word…
A few months ago, the federal government announced it was appropriating 17.5 billion dollars to build ten new nuclear power plants by 2030, created solely for the purpose of generating enough additional electricity to power the rapidly burgeoning, and troublingly…
Santa Monica Spoke submitted the following letter to support the awarding of a contract to design a protected bikeway on 14th Street at last night’s City Council meeting. The motion passed 7-0. Subject: Item 4B: Please support a Protected Bikeway…
Get Thee to a Nunnery In Act Three of Hamlet, the young prince says to Ophelia, “Get thee to a nunnery, go. Or if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of…
The crossing guard at Chelsea Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard has been escorting McKinley kids across the street for almost twenty years, and for much of that time he’s had to watch out for left-turning drivers who didn’t see her…
A last-minute attempt to create a special exemption from California’s Coastal Act for a major Santa Monica development appears to be dead, after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration backed away from including the controversial provision in a state budget trailer bill.…
Before I begin, I want to honor and commemorate my incredible Sacramento Chief of Staff, Carol Wallisch, who passed away last Sunday. For fourteen years, she was the calm in every storm, the encouragement when others said “you can’t do…
What We Were Not Albert Camus was a political journalist, novelist (The Stranger and The Plague) and essayist known for his absurdist work. In 1957 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. I was thinking of a quote attributed to him this…
Note: The Supervisor’s Office mailed us a copy of Horvath’s notes yesterday that can be found below the video.
We appreciate Santa Monica Next’s coverage of SMMPTA Council’s legislative study on artificial turf and its decision to publish a link to the full report (“Coastal Commission Staff Fumes at ‘Unpermitted’ Turf Replacement at Ocean Park School House,” July 28).…
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District prioritizes student safety and well-being, including a commitment to safe, accessible outdoor learning and play spaces. Physical Education is part of the curriculum and a central component to every student’s educational experience. While there are…
