Editorials, letters to the editor, and other community opinions about Santa Monica.
The Palisades Fire, a devastating wildfire that has ravaged the Westside of Los Angeles, has caused immense destruction and loss. My heart goes out to all those impacted by this tragedy. However, as a trained urban planner who often thinks…
Following the completion of Saturday’s public meeting (more on that later), the Santa Monica Airport Conversion Project launched its third survey to bring in stakeholder feedback about the future land uses for the land on which the airport now rests.…
This might be the last time we look in on the laughably inaccurate Pulse Polls as their influence has waned after inacurate after inacurate poll is published.. The polls’ record of predicting elections was inaccurate in 2022, but was even…
With new council-members elected, now is the time to consider what can be achieved together to make Santa Monica a better place to live. The race featured lots of discussion on the need for more affordable housing in Santa Monica…
The following piece first appeared at The Healthy City Local. My feelings were sure wrong when I wrote on Election Day that they were telling me the election would go like 2012, not 2016. Just when polls were saying that the late…
Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Community Members, The 2024 election is now behind us, and our community – like so many others across the country – has experienced a range of emotions. Whether you are pleased with the results or…
To. The. Polls. Tomorrow is finally election day in Santa Monica and across the country. Many of you have voted already. I know I have. But for anyone waiting until election day, we offer the following guide to election day…
As Damien Newton covered recently, on October 7 Mayor Phil Brock and Councilmember Oscar de la Torre discussed their desire to enact a Project 2025 style purge of city staff. De la Torre said that this Night of the Long…
As election day nears, Santa Monica Next adds its voice to the chorus of housing, labor, health, and livability advocates urging you to support efforts to address L.A. County’s homelessness crisis by voting yes on Measure A – the half-cent sales tax that…
Kevin McKeown is a former Santa Monica Mayor and City Councilmember. A virtually anonymous flyer circulated in single-family neighborhoods has inserted an existing state law, Senate Bill 10 from 2021, into the current Santa Monica Council election. That flyer, headlined…
The following article first appeared on The Healthy City Local. About a year ago, after seven years of litigation, the California Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in the case the Pico Neighborhood Association and Maria Loya brought under the…
The following post first appeared on The Healthy City Local. There has always been a dance between local and national politics, a dance that can appear to take place in a maze of funhouse mirrors. That’s how Santa Monica politics…
“…I can’t even pronounce her last name because I haven’t seen her long enough to know who she really is. I don’t even know where she comes from.” Sound familiar? Like the words of Donald Trump talking about Kamala Harris?…
Santa Monica Next is a party of a 501c(3) and as such cannot make candidate endorsements. However, we can weigh in on ballot measures and have already urged voters to vote Yes on QS, the SMMUSD School Bond, and Yes…
The following letter to the editor by SMMUSD School Board of Education Member Jon Kean appeared in today’s Daily Press (pdf. page 7), but they did not publish it outside of the daily pdf. on their website. We are printing…
