Editorials, letters to the editor, and other community opinions about Santa Monica.
The following originally appeared on Streetsblog L.A. It is by David Levitus. Levitus earned his Ph.D. at USC with a focus on the history of cities, policy, and politics in the United States. At NYU, he majored in Economics and History. He is…
The following letter was sent by Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati. Dear SMMUSD staff, parents and community members, Our hearts go out to the families and staff involved in yesterday’s tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High…
Last month, State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released a draft of his legislation, Senate Bill 827, which would upend zoning rules throughout California. The bill, aimed at making it easier to build housing at a time when the state…
The following post is by Kevin Herrera, sr. marketing & communication manager for Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. It originally appeared on Santa Monica Centric. Downtown seems to be littered with them. On almost every street corner you can find a Bird…
Carter Rubin is a Santa Monica resident and serves as an advisory board member of Santa Monica Next. Carter has served as an appointed member on the Santa Monica Housing and Planning Commissions. Carter earned a B.A. in political studies…
At Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.’s Annual Meeting on August 31, 2017, Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer delivered these remarks reflecting on highlights from 2017 so far, as well as the opportunities and challenges ahead. These remarks originally appeared on the city’s…
This post by Santa Monica’s public information coordinator Joseph Vandenorth originally appeared at santamonica.gov. COAST is just around the corner on Sunday, October 1 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. You might be wondering, “what’s COAST?” Back for its second year,…
The following is a message from Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati regarding President Donald Trump’s decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. We understand the concern and fear felt by our families…
The following is a letter from Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer and Mayor Pro Tempore Gleam Davis. To the residents of Santa Monica, We share the nation’s heartache following the events in Charlottesville. It’s painful to see blatant hate played…
The following was written by former Santa Monica resident and activist Ernie Powell. Powell is currently an organizer and consultant with Social Security Works. August 14 is Social Security’s 82nd birthday. All of us, young, middle aged and old, should…
A popular segment of the new Exposition Bike path will close for three months for maintenance. [update 8/16: exploratory work currently underway will determine whether the closure is 3 months or 6 weeks]. This long-term temporary closure provides an opportunity for…
The following is by Susan Cline, city of Santa Monica public works director and Gigi Decavalles-Hughes, city of Santa Monica finance director. Santa Monica City Hall is an iconic and historic building that has served this community well for the last…
On Tuesday, the Santa Monica City Council faced a difficult choice: whether to require 20-30 percent of units in new construction downtown be affordable, or whether to leave the requirement at only 15-20 percent. This is a difficult decision, with…
The following is a letter sent by a recent Santa Monica resident to the City Council. It is reprinted here with his permission. Dear City Leaders, I am writing regarding the Downtown Specific Plan. Although prior engagements prevent me from…
This post originally appeared on The Healthy City Local. At the City Council meeting last Tuesday night on Santa Monica’s Downtown Community Plan (DCP) the ironies abounded. As planning staff has told us many times, the DCP is the result of…
