Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 111
This was on the way to Santa Monica's wonderful Christmas Tree Lighting on the 3rd Street Promenade. But our Mayor, City Council, newly elected Council Members and DTSM, Inc. CEO walked right past this guy and others lying on the sidewalk. This man may have accidentally flipped over, had serious mental issues, or been high. Have we become that numbed? Too many untraced checks are being written by City-funded 'non-profits' to have this continue. The tree was lit, the speeches were made, and the...
Dear Santa Monica Mayor Brock, In light of the recent court hearing regarding the California Voting Rights Act case, I am writing to request that you immediately call a special City Council meeting for the public to express their views on the prospect of funding the case for another four years, and so that the Council upon hearing public input by the taxpayers and voters can decide whether to settle the case. It is the Council's fiduciary duty to Santa Monica taxpayers to seriously consider a...
The relatively unknown music store owner Lana Negret was appointed to the Council in June 2021 after a nomination by her friend, Council Member Christine Parra, who is a member of the Change Slate. During the vetting process preceding the appointment it is reported that Negrete expressed to at least one member of the Change Slate her support for the city switching from at-large elections to district elections where each district elects one council member only. This was an important declaration...
1) These meetings started when the LA County Civil Grand Jury judged Santa Monica one of the most financially mismanaged cities in LA County. Today it's worse. 2) The original auditing firm Moss Adams should be replaced. They are still conducting "virtual" audits, and waiting 9 months to a year for answers from City Staff and City-funded non-profits. 3) We need a DIFFERENT firm with NO long term ties to the City, Council, or Staff. Staff should NOT be interviewing the candidates. THIS committee...
A brush fire forced the closure of two major arteries for the Westside Wednesday October 16th. East Bound and West Bound Santa Monica Fwy were be closed between the McClure Tunnel and 20th St. Lincoln Blvd was closed to both Northbound & Southbound traffic from Westbound Olympic to Eastbound Olympic. Lincoln Blvd is the main up and down link connecting Santa Monica, Venice, Westchester, Inglewood and the Los Angeles Airport. The Santa Monica Freeway transitions to the Pacific Coast Highway via...
August 21, 2024 - A new bail schedule set by the Los Angeles County Superior Court in October 2023 sets zero-money bail for nearly all crimes committed in the county. In 2020, California residents voted to restore money bail by repealing Senate Bill 10. Nevertheless, Superior Courts have the authority to set their own bail schedules for their jurisdiction and LASC decided against money bail for most offenses. A statement from Presiding Judge Samantha P. Jessner regarding the new Pre-Arraignment...
August 21, 2024 - Santa Monica City Councilmember Oscar de la Torre intends to sponsor legislation that will close a loophole in a May ordinance that defunded third-party contractors like the Venice Family Clinic if they distributed needles and drug paraphernalia in the city's public parks. The original language of the ordinance that was passed 6-1 was changed to include only needle distribution and removed reference to "other drug paraphernalia." Accordingly, VFC began distributing glass pipes...
July 23, 2024 - On Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Mark Zuckman indicated he would like to recommend a diversion program for the suspect who reportedly attacked local business owner and community activist John Alle in Palisades Park last summer. Alle claims he was taking a short break from work by walking in the park along the ocean-side cliffs on Tuesday, September 19 at around 3 pm when the suspect, Tyler Jordan Keating, demanded his phone and his wallet and then sucker...
July 10, 2024 - Well over three hundred employees of the City of Santa Monica had salaries of $200,000 and over in 2022, according to data obtained from a public records request by John Alle and the Santa Monica Coalition. The breakdown obtained by the organization of residents, property, and business owners concerned with public safety is as follows: 24 city employees made between $450K-$600K 40 made between $400K-$450K 56 made between $300K-$400K 256 made between $200K-$300K This adds up to 37...
Mayor Brock left Reed Park after 45 min. I watched from my car, and did not enter Reed Park. Brock approached me as I was sitting in my car, said he was hungry, and going to lunch. Brock's comments about the Venice Family Clinic in Tongva Park are hearsay, because he was not there. While in Reed Park, Vice Mayor Negrete and a Venice Family Clinic worker were startled by an addict close behind them who began screaming a 4-letter word and waving his hands. They quickly moved on. While in Tongva...
June 17, 2024 - Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock said in a phone interview that he and Vice-mayor Lana Negrete did a walk-along with Venice Family Clinic (VFC)as part of an effort to move LA County Department of Public Health's "harm reduction" needle distribution program out of the city's parks. According to Brock, the experience did not change his mind about the need to move any drug-paraphernalia distribution programs out of public spaces. Brock said the walk-along was part of their response to...
June 12, 2024 - During the lunch hour today, John Alle, business and property owner, witnessed paramedics dealing with an overdose situation in popular Palisades Park in Santa Monica. As EMTs attempted to help the victim, two individuals, apparently homeless, harrassed them in their efforts. Palisades Park runs from the Santa Monica pier along Ocean Avenue all the way to the north end of Santa Monica. It is a major destination point for tourists with its clear views of the ocean and is used by...
In response to Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock uploading to Instagram a promotional video featuring the Third Street Promenade in rose-colored terms, John Alle wrote the following regrading what he and the Santa Monica Coalition he co-founded see as the ongoing and very real problems in the Santa Monica downtown area. His remarks have been edited for length. He also provided the photos, which were date and time stamped as we have recorded here. What you [Phil Brock] conveyed in your video does not...
May 29, 2024 - Downtown Santa Monica Inc, the nonprofit, quasi-governmental agency that is responsible for the cleanliness, security, and prosperity of that area, is being accused of conflict of interest among some of its board members, poor money management, and general dereliction of duty and incompetence. The borders over which DTSM assumes control are Ocean Avenue on the west, Lincoln Blvd., on the east, Wilshire Blvd. on the north, and the SM 10 Freeway on the south. A majority of its...
May 10, 2024 - Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock released a statement today that he adamantly opposes the distribution of needles in public spaces and does not want any public money spent on activities that involve the distribution of needles outdoors anywhere in the city. "My position on the distribution of syringes in any of our city parks, around our schools, recreation areas, or business districts is simple. It must not occur under any circumstances. In addition, I am adamantly opposed to any...
May 2, 2024 - The Santa Monica Coalition says they have discovered evidence that Santa Monica officials, including the City Manager, were aware that money given to the Venice Family Clinic was specifically designated for distributing clean needles to drug addicts in the city's parks. The Santa Monica Coalition is a group of business owners and residents who seek to restore safety to the city. They have filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County and the Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer...
April 25, 2024 - The Santa Monica Coalition conducted 3 separate walks and surveys of every ground floor retail business with its owner or store manager in November 2023, January 2024, and February 2024. The purpose was to determine the amount of retail theft and shoplifting. The 3 dates were selected to analyze any difference before and after DTSM, Inc.'s hiring of Legion Corporation, a Fresno-based company selected to patrol the 3rd Street Promenade and Downtown. There was less than a 15%...
April 17, 2024 - Differing views were expressed by speakers at a hastily convened rally opposing the free needle distribution program at Reed Park yesterday, but everyone agreed on one thing: needles do not belong in public parks. Approximately 70 people attended the rally Tuesday morning, including Channel 7 News and several other public and private news outlets. The small attendance belies the true opposition to the county program. 22,000 signatures have been collected opposing the distributio...
Amazon won't deliver bear spray to my Santa Monica address. Why not? LA County's Department Of Public Health and Santa Monica's City Manager are delivering drugs and needles to my Santa Monica address. Malibu and Beverly Hills and Skid Row and the Palisades are delivering drug addicts to my Santa Monica address. LA's District Attorney is delivering hardened criminals to my Santa Monica address. Santa Monica's Police Department and Santa Monica's City Government are delivering a public safety...
Open letter to the Santa Monica City Council and the City Manager Much has been made about the needle exchange program conducted by the Los Angeles Department of Public Health in our city streets and parks. So I cleared my Friday morning to spend two hours listening to their abysmal defense of the program, which is really a needle distribution program, because, as even the mad doctor Gary Tsai acknowledged, only 60% of needles gets returned. (How he arrived at that figure nobody knows because...
April 5, 2024 - As 54 downtown businesses are in the process of legally withdrawing from the private non-profit organization, Downtown Santa Monica Inc, charges have been leveled that the city-controlled operation wastes the money they collect from assessments on business and property owners. Downtown Santa Monica Inc is not a Business Improvement District, in which the businesses themselves run and decide on improvements, additional security, and other matters. Instead, DTSM is controlled by...
Dear City Attorney Sloan, Are all emails sent by constituent residents and business owners to you and/or individual Councilmembers, and our City Manager, received unscreened by a 3rd party or City Staff Member? Are the email addresses listed next to our Santa Monica Mayor and Santa Monica City Council Members, and City Manager, correct, and are their email addresses received and read first by each of them? It is my understanding that over 18,000 letters sent over the last 6 months to individual...
Hi Jesse, I noticed you put out a newsletter where you said: "As 2024 kicks into gear I'm happy to report a number of exciting accomplishments and events on the horizon in Santa Monica. From bringing people experiencing homelessness indoors to making our streets safer for all, we're making progress on the issues residents care most about, while our overall economic recovery is proceeding faster than anticipated." That statement is a complete lie Jesse. You're not making Santa Monica safer for...
March 12, 2024 - Based on my research on the LA County Registrar's website, and discussions with LA County Election monitors and officials - - 1) Approximately seventy (70%) percent of ALL votes were counted AFTER the March 5th election date. 2) Ten Thousand (10,000) persons registered to vote ON Election Day. 3) Eighty (80%) of ballot votes were received and counted AFTER March 5th (Election Day). 4) One-third (1/3rd) of all ballot votes were RECEIVED BY MAIL. 5) As of 8 pm on Election Day...
Tuesday evening February 20th I attended the Santa Monica City Council's Audit Sub-Committee Meeting. The Audit Subcommittee is not a City commission or board. It is supposed to provide an alternative way for employees, taxpayers or other citizens to confidentially report suspected illegal, improper, wasteful or fraudulent activity and provide periodic review and selection of external auditors. It is supposed to act in an 'advisory' capacity and review all City audit reports, analyze their...
