Editorials, letters to the editor, and other community opinions about Santa Monica.
This post originally appeared on the blog of local community activist and organizer Luke Klipp. It was republished on Santa Monica Next’s sister site, Longbeachize. Klipp serves as a Metro Board Deputy to Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and he is the…
This post originally appeared on The Healthy City Local. After, in words taken from the staff report, “nearly six years in development” (not too much longer than it takes to get approval to build an apartment building!), Santa Monica’s Downtown Community…
Bergamot Arts Center has been a vital part of the arts fabric of Santa Monica since its inception in the 1990s. On Tuesday night, the Santa Monica City Council will be asked to look at a proposal for Bergamot Arts Center…
The purpose of plans is to help communities confront and prepare for their future. On preparing for a future with climate change, the downtown plan is an utter failure. Instead of focusing on the most salient environmental threat humanity has…
The question I ended my post with on Saturday was why would Santa Monica enact a Downtown Community Plan (DCP) that makes it easier to build commercial development than housing? Keep in mind that this is taking place during a…
This article originally appeared on Healthy City Local. I’m sure readers are trembling with anticipation after I ended my last post with this cliffhanger: aside from drastically reducing the advantage that residential development in downtown Santa Monica had over commercial development…
This piece originally ran on Healthy City Local. There are good ideas in the Downtown Community Plan (DCP): ideas about the role of Santa Monica’s downtown, about nurturing community in “our town” with more and better housing and local-serving retail, about…
This post originally appeared on The Healthy City Local. Let me begin my further ruminations and fulminations on the Downtown Community Plan (DCP) with a quibble, namely the failure to include in the DCP’s historical background section mention of Arcadia Bandini…
The following post originally appeared on Healthy City Local. It’s back! The latest (and promised final!) version of Santa Monica’s Downtown Community Plan (DCP), is being dragged through the Planning Commission, with an ultimate destination of the Promised Land, namely approval by…
Via Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole’s blog, The Long View. There is a dynamic and positive new tone coming from the California Coastal Commission. The California Coastal Commission has had just five leaders since it was created in 1972. Longtime…
In commemoration of Cesar Chavez Day, Santa Monica Next will be taking the day off from publishing. Below is a short piece by long-time Santa Monica activist Ernie Powell about his experience working with Cesar Chavez and the United Farmer Workers…
In the past few weeks, Santa Monica has experienced five more violent pedestrian crashes and almost as many deaths, reminding us all that we are unsafe in our city, whether crossing the street for coffee or going to a local…
The following is a letter from Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer addressing the recent deaths of three young people in the community. I received the devastating news of the tragic circumstances that led to the death of Samohi freshman Andre…
The following letter is by Santa Monica High School principal Dr. Antonio Shelton to the Santa Monica High School community regarding the recent death of a ninth grade student at the school. Dear Santa Monica High School family and community, It…
This piece was originally published on Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole’s blog, The Long View. Santa Monica Next also covered this issue here and here. I recently wrote about the always controversial issue of public employee compensation. In the first post, I welcomed…
