Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 123
January 25, 2023 - Citing a budget that is heavy on salaries and failed programs, incompetent leadership, and the economically and physically depressed state of the Third Street Promenade, property owner and business leader John Alle is calling for the disbanding of Downtown Santa Monica Inc (DTSM). DTSM is a "private" non-profit organization that is supposed to work with the City government to manage services and operations in downtown Santa Monica. The 13-member board of...
LA County loses bid for contempt hearing for Villanueva, for now A judge has denied on procedural grounds a request by attorneys for Los Angeles County that a hearing be scheduled on whether to hold former Sheriff Alex Villanueva and his ex-undersheriff in contempt for allegedly ignoring subpoenas to appear before the Civilian Oversight Commission and testify about suspected deputy cliques.--City News Service Judge declines to shoot down California's restrictions on openly...
UPDATE December 12, 2022 - The mountain lion known as P-22 has been safely captured according to the National Park Service and SaveLA Cougars. Beth Pratt, Regional Director of the National Wildlife Federation, thanked NPS and California Department of Fish and Wildlife for bringing P-22 in safely for a health evaluation. As well, Pratt wrote that, "Our hearts go out to the pets and people that in P-22's distress have been impacted. We acknowledge that these interactions are...
California Supreme Court tosses gang murder conspiracy case: The California Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the conspiracy-to-murder conviction of a gang member who used social media to applaud the killing of rivals during a San Diego gang war. "Being a cheerleader" isn't enough to show that Nicholas Hoskins conspired in the murders, the court said in an unusual and unanimous opinion. The court overturned Hoskins' sentence of 25 years to life and sent the case back to the...
Los Angeles District Attorney Taxpayers on hook as Gascon brings in nation's highest-paid attorney in legal battle with his own prosecutors Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon, whose own deputies sued him for permission to charge repeat offenders to the fullest extent of the law, has pulled out all the stops in his California Supreme Court appeal against them, retaining one of the nation's top lawyers. Neal K. Katyal, a former Acting U.S. Solicitor General who represen...
Open Letter to Sue Himmelrich and husband Michael Soloff: It was with dismay that I watched both your orchestrated attacks on councilman Phil Brock's alternate tax transfer measure at the July 12 City Council meeting (http://santamonica.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2). It was the definition of bad faith. Michael Soloff, in your labored straw man argument, you called Councilman Brock's measure a "poison pill." You used every cliche in the canon to push for endless...
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón claims L.A. County is safer 'in some areas' because of his policies despite rise in violent crime over past year Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón joined local station KTLA 5 Saturday morning to defend his record as he faces a potential recall. Gascón was asked by news anchors Lynette Romero and Mark Meester to respond to those criticizing him as a "soft-on-crime" DA as L.A. has seen an 8.6% rise in violent crime ove...
Los Angeles District Attorney Los Angeles DA George Gascon 'overstates his authority,' can't ignore California law, court rules A California appeals court of Thursday upheld an injunction that said Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon can't refuse to charge three-strike cases, which can significantly increase prison sentences. The court affirmed an earlier ruling that said the directive not to charge strikes against dependants violates state law and the rights...
May 26, 2022 - Property owners surrounding the former downtown Santa Monica parking structure 3 noticed that the lights attached to the building were permanently shut off on Tuesday evening, May 10, by Southern California Edison. These lights illuminate the alley behind the parking structure for about 225 linear feet. . In addition, 8 city light poles from Arizona to Santa Monica Boulevard are out. On top of the lack of light at night, the construction site is left unlocked...
To save, preserve and expand the United States Postal Service requires making the post office a national priority. Plus, first firing Louis de Joy. Now that the dysfunctional board which governs the postal service has new directors firing Postmaster de Joy is - priority one !! Note to president Biden ...... please, before your next international trip, before you sign your next bill, before your next state dinner, before your next cabinet meeting ...... in other words,...
Thank God for life's little pleasures! The mailbox in front of Will Rogers station post office, at Euclid and Wilshire, is once again bolted in the cement where it belongs. So now you can once again mail a letter 24/7 in Santa Monica. There have been rumors, says our source, that the Will Rogers station would close and the installation of a new box, does seem to indicate that they will be leaving the only Post Office in 90403 or 90402 open for the time being. About 40,000...
Amid an affordable housing and homelessness crisis, why would the City want to suspend all meetings of the Housing Commission "until City Council considers its annual appointments in June 2022" (May 10, 2022 agenda item 13C)? And why are the Mayor and Councilmembers insisting that "once the Housing Commission resumes meeting following the appointments, it shall immediately hold elections for Chair and Vice Chair"? Those elections are already compulsory per Council Resolution 1...
Courts & Rulings Court hears case over deputy who didn't read Miranda rights You have the right to remain silent. Everyone knows police aren't supposed to question suspects without reading them their Miranda rights. But what happens when law enforcement officers don't first read suspects their rights? The Supreme Court on Wednesday wrestled with whether a sheriff's deputy can be sued for money damages for violating the rights of a hospital employee who was accused of sexually...
The City Council of Calabasas has published an open letter to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, spurning his requiest to meet and discuss his "vision" of law enforcement. Citing a spiraling increase in crime in Calabasas and the continued presence on the street of an accused serial child predator, Councilmember James Bozajian, a past president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys, posted the below letter to Gascon, outlining the reasons a meeting w...
April 12, 2022 - City officials at all levels are struggling to respond to the recent news reports ranking Santa Monica as one of the least safe cities in California. In an open letter, City Manager David White and Police Chief Ramon Batista - both relatively new hires - claimed they have heard residents' fears and dismay and are taking aggressive action to restore the city's safety. Meanwhile, Barry Snell, the Interim Chief Executive Officer of Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.,...
Courts & Rulings FBI wins narrow high court ruling on failed mosque sting operation The FBI can invoke privilege for state secrets to duck a lawsuit over a failed operation spying on Muslims after 9/11, the Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision Friday. Sheikh Yassir Fazaga, an imam with the Orange County Islamic Foundation, brought the suit with two other Muslim men over a decade ago, saying their rights were violated through the FBI counterterrorism investigation...
As you might expect, conspiracy theories are making the rounds on Russian social media. One theory that the real reason Russia invaded Ukraine has nothing to do with history, national pride, neo-Nazi's or internal Ukraine politics. It's about the CIA Biolabs, of course. The US Embassy to Ukraine denied these rumors 2 years ago. But some Russians nevertheless deflect blame for their invasion, on the US and the CIA. "I'm not sure what the whole truth is, but for one, there are...
June 5Th 2015, Amber S. Jackson, #X15530 / (CIW) Dear [name redacted], Hi. This letter is being written by me to apologize for all the harm that I've done to you. I need you to know that I'm sorry. I'm acutely aware of all the ways my actions in Sept. 2004 hurt you and our family and our surrounding community in San Diego. You don't owe me anything. You don't even have to read this. But I pray that you will read this and that doing so will help your journey of healing. In...
Mayor Sheds Crocodile Tears While Ruining Santa Monica Permanently for Residents: Letter from Santa Monica Voter Boo-hoo-boo, Mayor Himmelrich. Cry me a river with your comments. If you and this City Council were doing your jobs for the people who voted for you, the citizens of Santa Monica would not be upset with your inadequate performance. You close off Parking Structure 3 so no one can park there, especially on Wednesdays during the Farmer's Market. People can't go to the...
Courts & Rulings Calif. DAs win temporary restraining order preventing corrections dept. from awarding 66% 'good conduct credits' to second-strikers The California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation recently enacted so-called "emergency" regulations to allow for additional "good conduct credits" to be awarded to serious and violent felons, and not based upon these felons completing any rehabilitation programs, or in essence, proving their good conduct. California...
Courts & Rulings California high court greenlights suit by assault victim, despite prior settlement In a ruling being hailed as a major win for victims of sexual assault and harassment, the California Supreme Court held Thursday that a contract barring two people from bad-mouthing each other doesn't prevent a woman from suing an abuser in court. "I think it's a great day for California victims of harassment and abuse because the opinion appropriately recognizes that such...
Courts & Rulings A court upheld the firing of 2 LAPD officers who ignored a robbery to play Pokémon Go An appeals court in California has upheld the firing of two former Los Angeles Police Department officers for playing Pokémon Go rather than responding to a nearby robbery. Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell, who were fired after the 2017 incident, had argued that the city violated the law by using their police car's digital in-car video system recording as evidence and by d...
1/21/22: Staff for the City of Santa Monica released a report this month titled "Overview of Homeless Outreach and Hygiene Services" in response to requests from some city councilmembers for a comprehensive report on what is being done to address homelessness, how much it is costing, and what effect it has had. None of the requested information is addressed in full in the January 6 staff report. Measures to address homelessness increase a complex web of different types of...
Courts & Rulings Judge halts California earlier releases for repeat offenders A judge on Wednesday temporarily halted California's plans to speed the potential prison release dates for repeat offenders with serious and violent criminal histories under the state's "three strikes" law. California corrections officials had filed emergency regulations to boost good conduct credits for second-strike inmates serving time for nonviolent offenses who are housed at minimum-security...
With Covid-19 case counts exploding in Los Angeles County and across the U.S., schools are mostly still planning to reopen. On Sunday night, the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District issued a "Superintendent’s Message" signed by Dr. Ben Drati. It reaffirms the school districts commitment to reopening Monday and Tuesday, even with Omicron. It does say the school is monitoring the situation and will regard a school closure "as a last resort and considered only after all av...
