Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
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The City of Santa Monica has announced that its Main Library will reopen for limited in-person service to the community on Tuesday, June 1. The Main Library, located at 601 Santa Monica Blvd., will offer the following services: in-person browsing of the first-floor collection, checking out items, holds pick-up, public computer use, printing and brief in-person interaction with staff. "The best way to make the most of your time at the Library is to plan your trip: wear a face mask, know the...
More than half of the students in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District have returned to campus for in-person instruction and the percentage is increasing daily, school officials said on Monday. But SMMUSD parents have until this Friday, May 14, to finalize their decision about in-person or distance learning for their children for the rest of this school year, said Supt Ben Drati in an email to parents. "Following this date, parents will no longer be able to switch between the two...
Are Santa Monica-area hospitals doing a great job protecting patients from preventable errors, accidents, injuries, and infections? UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center is acing that assignment but not Providence Saint John's Health Center, according to the Leapfrog Group, the national health care watchdog organization. In the Leapfrog Group's Spring Safety Grades report, released this week, UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center got an "A" while Providence got a "C" assessment. The watchdog group grades...
An apparently disoriented woman was struck and killed by a vehicle Sunday night as she walked down a 10 Freeway on-ramp in Santa Monica, local authorities said. The incident occurred at 10:33 p.m. on the Cloverfield Boulevard on-ramp to the eastbound Santa Monica Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The Santa Monica Police Department told the CHP the victim was seen stumbling in that area and appeared disoriented on the 2100 block of...
Santa Monica and Malibu high schools are now among the top 150 high schools in California. Santa Monica was ranked 98 while Malibu placed 146 among more than 2600 public high schools in the Golden State, according to rankings by U.S. News and World Report. U.S. News rankings are determined by college readiness scores, based on demographics, state test scores and college prep exams. Both SMMUSD high schools ranked in the top 1,000 nationally. The publication surveyed more than 17,800 public high...
Eleven local residents – including one former councilmember, a retired Los Angeles Airport Police Chief, two current city commissioners and two young adults – have been appointed to serve on Santa Monica's newly-created Public Safety Reform and Oversight Commission (PSROC). PSROC is the first civilian oversight body for the Santa Monica Police Department, city officials. It was formed in early January, six months after local residents presented the City Council with a number of police ref...
The City Council this week gave serious consideration to a pilot program calling for the closure of portions of Main Street during the summer weekends and it also entertained a proposal for converting a portion of Reed Park into a neighborhood dog park. At its Tuesday night's meeting, the Council voted unanimously to direct staff to draft a plan "to implement a pilot program for temporary summer weekend closure of all or part of Main Street to automobiles and bus traffic, as well as to assess...
The City Council this week approved notable changes to Santa Monica's boards, commissions and task forces to "increase their effectiveness, attract diverse representation from the community and align their activities with departmental work plans." At its Tuesday night's meeting, Council also directed staff to return with an ordinance to convert the Task Force on the Environment to a permanent panel -the Commission on Sustainability and the Environment-with its goals to include environmental...
The City of Santa Monica has announced its public counter will offer in-person permit services by appointment on select days beginning next Monday, May 3. The Permit Services' public counter in the new City Hall East (CHE), accessible from Olympic Drive, will be open Mondays and Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. The public counter is a one-stop hub for a range of services offered by the city's planning, building and safety divisions as well as the public works and finance departments. "We look...
Students in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District won't be required to take the federal and state-mandated assessment tests this school year. But they will have to take local standardized tests that measure their literacy and numeracy skills, Supt. Ben Drati said this week. In a letter to parents, released on Wednesday, Drati said school districts in California have recently been given the flexibility by the federal and the state governments to use locally selected tests rather the...
A proposed new Fire Training Center, renovations in Tongva and Palisades parks and temporary closures of Main Street during summer weekends will top the agenda at the April 27 meeting of the Santa Monica City Council. In its report, city staff recommends that Council approves up to $6,350,000 for the design and construction of Santa Monica Fire Training facility, which represents part of the City Yards Modernization Plan. The new 12,000 square-foot facility would be built in the 14.7-acre in...
Representatives from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and the local community argued at Saturday's hearing on the City of Malibu's separation petition that splitting the district would create "irreparable harm to both Santa Monica and Malibu, specifically in the areas of diversity, equity, educational programs and finances." Speaking at Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization (LACOE) meeting, SMMUSD officials also invited representatives from the City of...
Commercial tenants in city-owned properties who have been financially impacted by the pandemic will soon be getting some rent relief from their landlord. At its Tuesday night's meeting, the Santa Monica City Council voted to direct staff to design a Rent Abatement Program for city tenants – which will be funded by a portion of the $29.3 million federal stimulus the city is receiving through American Rescue Plan. The motion also includes a rent freeze for all city tenants for fiscal year 2...
In light of the recent demonstrations nationwide, where "violence erupted between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators and violence against law enforcement personnel," the Santa Monica City Council tried at Tuesday's meeting to pass an emergency ordinance which would ban certain items that "can be weaponized" at public assemblies and community events. But after some council members questioned some of its provisions and offered many amendments – in essence weakening it, the Council voted a...
Like any messy divorce in California, the splitting of Santa Monica and Malibu into two separate independent school districts will come down to money, specifically "alimony" for SMMUSD. Last Thursday, the school board voted 6-1 in closed session to reject the "best and final offer" made by the City of Malibu. By unanimous vote, the board also authorized the district staff to submit a counter proposal to Malibu that "achieves the goal of a separation on fair and equitable terms." In a letter to...
The Santa Monica City Council will consider at its April 13 meeting an emergency ordinance which would ban certain items that "can be weaponized" at public assemblies and community events. "There is an increasing concern about violence at public events and about violent clashes at such events between those with opposing views and numerous public protests, demonstrations, and rallies conducted throughout the nation," said city staff in a report. The report cited the cities of Washington D.C,...
Santa Monica may not be as renowned as Hollywood and Beverly Hills but a report from Stacker has revealed the home to Third Street Promenade, the Pier and a sun-drenched coastline was one of the top 5 beach town in the United States in 2020. Santa Monica placed fifth in the survey, just one ranking below Newport Beach. In fact, it was ranked higher that all the beach cities in the South Bay and most of the coastal towns in Southern California. Stacker – a news organization committed to t...
The Santa Monica City Council met this week to discuss affordable housing plans for its "Housing Element" update that "prioritizes 100% affordable housing in city-owned land" and "addresses historic discrimination and satisfies affirmatively furthering fair housing." After a spirited 7-hour debate, Council, by a 4-3 vote, directed staff to focus its planning efforts on "prioritizing the production of affordable housing on city-owned land and seeking to distribute housing in new areas of Santa...
Downtown Santa Monica (DTSM) has announced it is expanding its Ambassador Program to include safety-related services in addition to the hospitality, custodial and homeless outreach efforts. Beginning April 1, specially-trained "Safety Ambassadors" will be on patrol throughout Downtown Santa Monica on bike, Segway, foot and vehicle addressing quality-of-life offenses, acting as a deterrent to unwanted behavior and activity, responding to incidents called in by businesses and patrons, in addition...
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has just announced it will officially reopen its campuses for full-time, in-person instruction on April 19 for elementary students and on April 26 for secondary students. In a letter to parents, posted online over the weekend, SMMUSD Superintendent Ben Drati said the newly-released, distancing guidance from County Department of Public Health – which allows students to sit three feet apart in classrooms instead the old requirement of six – "op...
All the students in Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District may fully return to their physical classrooms as early as April 12. SMMUSD Supt. Ben Drati made it clear this past weekend that the district will completely reopen the campuses after spring break if Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) adopts the just-released guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), allowing students to sit three feet apart in their classrooms instead the current requirement of six...
The Santa Monica City Council spent more than three hours at its Monday night meeting discussing an extension of the Rent Deferment Program that covers commercial tenants in city-owned properties who have been financially impacted by pandemic. After pleas for rent relief from tenants in Bergamot Station, the Santa Monica Pier and the Santa Monica Airport, the Council decided to extend the Commercial Eviction Moratorium for tenants in city-owned properties for another three months, in essence...
Bloomingdale's, an anchor at Santa Monica Place for the past 10 years, is closing its doors this weekend. The department store at 315 Colorado Ave, fashioned after the New York City's Soho location, is holding a clearance sale for the next four days and shutting down its operation this Sunday, according to company officials. The closure comes just three months after employees were notified by Macy's Inc., the parent company of Bloomingdale's, of its plan to shutter the Santa Monica store and 44...
In an effort to "evaluate all available areas of the city for housing potential," the City Council has approved an interim zoning ordinance (IZO) banning non-residential developments in Santa Monica and single-family dwellings in the commercial districts for the next 45 days. Councilmembers said the ban is a "general pause" to allow staff to identify potential housing sites in Santa Monica, as part of the Housing Element Update. The Council will review the IZO for possible extension in April....
There is more for Santa Monica and Westside residents in the recently-passed $1.9 trillion federal stimulus bill than $1,400 checks. The City of Santa Monica is slated to receive $29.3 million in federal grants, according to a report from the League of California Cities. Malibu will get $2.2 million, Culver City $7.3 million, Beverly Hills $6.3 million, while West Hollywood is expecting $6.8 million. Santa Monica Interim City Manager Lane Dilg said the federal aid of $29.3 million will "help...
