Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 613
The Los Angeles County Sheriff is the only entity in the area willing and able to remove homeless encampments, says Michelle Bisnoff, Chair of the Brentwood Community Council, in a social media post. Currently, the sheriff's Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST) is working to clear the encampment of veterans that have occupied the sidewalk on San Vicente outside the Veterans Administration for some time. Two murders have occurred in the tent encampment in a month. In an...
The city of Santa Monica has sued a local landlord for allegedly converting a rent-controlled apartment building on 10th Street into a complex mostly used for "unlawful vacation rentals," thereby violating the Ellis Act and local rent control regulations. In a lawsuit filed on September 28, the city and the Santa Monica Rent Control Board allege that since 2018 NMS Properties, Inc. and its affiliates have violated the Ellis Act as well as local laws intended to protect...
October 1, 2021 Spurred on by Santa Monica City Councilmember Phil Brock, the City Council on Tuesday voted 5-2 to ask a Westside city association if they should join a lawsuit challenging the number of units they've been ordered to build by the state. The lawsuit, already filed in June by the Orange County Council of Governments (OKKOG), disputes the number of units decreed by California's Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), saying the population growth...
About 84% of local residents are fully vaccinated, announced the City of Santa Monica this week as it extended its local emergency orders through October 31. "Santa Monicans have done an incredible job getting vaccinated and wearing masks indoors and these actions have curbed rising cases," said Interim City Manager and Director of Emergency Services John Jalili. "As we look to the holiday season, let's keep the trend going by vaccinating, masking, and gathering safely." With...
Santa Monica’s Mayor refused to attend a public forum on homelessness where she could not control the microphone. Nor did she reply to our request for a statement regarding her refusal to come discuss a problem that is arguably, in some significant part, her fault and likely to get worse if she peppers the city with the “affordable” and “permanent supportive” housing she desires. On the other hand, City Councilmembers Phil Brock and Oscar de la Torre did attend the meeting h...
Santa Monica will soon have a new interim City Attorney but a familiar face to local city government. The City Council is expected to appoint Joseph P. Lawrence as Interim City Attorney at its next meeting on September 28, according to city officials. Lawrence will replace interim City Attorney George Cardona who announced recently he was leaving his post on September 30. "Lawrence has specialized skills and a unique understanding of city and the position of City Attorney,"...
September 17, 2021 - This week, Los Angeles County health officials announced they would be issuing a new Health Officer Order mandating vaccine verification for individuals wishing to work at or enter bars and wineries. Proof of vaccine or a negative Covid test would be required to attend an outdoor mega event. They could not have created more distrust in the vaccine if they tried. Initial damage was done to the vaccine's credibility in mid-July, when health officials...
The City of Malibu's petition to break up the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District into two separate districts cleared a major hurdle Saturday as a Los Angeles County Office of Education panel decided to move it to the next phase of the lengthy process. At a virtual public hearing, the LACOE Committee on School District Organization voted 8-2 to proceed with regular review of the contentious petition. County officials said the vote doesn't necessarily represent an...
The California State Legislature has approved a bill which "will ensure cities and counties are adequately re-zoning to meet their housing needs" – a move many critics and homeowners say may lead to the elimination of the R-1 (single-family) zones in their municipalities. AB 1398 – approved by the legislature last week – requires local agencies that fail to adopt a legally compliant housing element to properly rezone within one year to meet its affordable housing needs. "The...
The City of Malibu's petition to split the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District into two separate districts received a major boost from county officials this week. Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) has recommended that Malibu's petition move forward to the next phase, even though it "does not sufficiently meet" some of financial conditions required for evaluation and approval, according to a newly-released county report. Next Saturday, September 18, LACOE...
The California State Legislature has approved Assembly Bill 721 whose stated purpose is to "remove exclusionary and racist provisions in housing covenants." Actually, the bill cites "racism" to do what the Democratic controlled legislature has wanted to do for years: Greatly increase the density of R1 and R2 zoning, to replace single family homes occupied by older white people, with high density housing. "AB 721 is a crucial step in remedying California's painful history of...
In an act of political violence, a woman or girl wearing a gorilla mask hurled an egg at Larry Elder. Elder, a black Conservative , is a candidate for California Governor in what Dems have labelled "the Republican recall." He was touring homeless encampments in Venice and campaigning at the time the incident happened. "Touch me again! Touch me again! Touch me again, and I'll f**k you up!" the unidentified woman repeatedly shouts at an older white male, part of Elder's entourag...
Ok, so check this out. California, the bluest Democrat state in the US, has a recall election against the most unpopular Governor in State history, Gavin Newsom. They want to project fairness in a one party state where elections are engineered, a State that produced Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Brown. And they send out ballots. According to the Hill, the envelope provided to mail in your ballots, has 2 holes in it. One can see how whether the Voter voted "Yes" or "No" through those...
The Los Angeles Times has been attacking him for weeks. He's being outspent ten to one. National leaders like Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi have trash talked him. So it's clear Larry Elder has a shot at the Governor's mansion in this recall election versus Governor Gavin Newsom. Elder is a registered Republican, but he is a philosophical Libertarian. As a Libertarian, Elder believes individuals should make the decisions that are best for them. Like Libertarianism...
The discovery of 300 stolen mail-in ballots in the car of a man passed out in a 7-Eleven parking lot in Torrance on August 16 illustrates the potential for fraud in the coming gubernatorial recall election - or any election held via universally mailed ballots. The security of the mailed-out ballot system relies on the diligence, care, and concern of numerous individuals, the massive majority of whom did not ask for the task and have no foreseeable interest in performing it....
Following in the footsteps of its neighbors, the Santa Monica City Council this week voted to require all city employees, volunteers and contractors to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. But the vote was not unanimous at Tuesday night's meeting. Councilmember Lana Negrete abstained, stating that, though she is vaccinated, she respects people who don't believe in vaccines. Voting against the measures was Councilmember Oscar de la Torre. He said he supports "people getting...
Gavin Newsom, a rich white guy from the Bay Area who is backed by some of the richest people in the State, faces a real challenge from the Recall Campaign. This has galvanized since June, when former Talk Radio host Larry Elder announced that he was running for the Golden State's top job. Some say the establishment is running scared. "There's real anger at Sacramento, real anger at Gavin Newsom. Larry Elder, temperament wise, symbolizes that, In a way that Kevin Falconer and...
Courts & Rulings Judge halts Newsom's planned closure of Northern California prison A Lassen County judge this week granted the city of Susanville a temporary restraining order halting the state's work to close a Northern Californian prison that employs about 1,000 people. Superior Court Judge Mark Nareau found Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration did not comply with requirements cited in the California Penal Code when it announced plans in April to close the California...
The Santa Monica City Council this week approved the employment contract with its newly-appointed City Manager David White. White will earn an annual salary of $340,000 plus benefits and start his new post on October 11, city officials said. Under the negotiated contract, Santa Monica will also reimburse White's moving and relocation expenses, provide up to seven months of temporary rental assistance (maximum of $21,000) as well as use of a city car and "make available a home...
The City Council unanimously voted this week to pass an amendment to the city's noise ordinance to "reduce prolonged noise from protest activities in residential neighborhoods." The move was in in response to the fall 2020 protests that targeted the Santa Monica residence of County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and disturbed her neighbors through the prolonged use of amplified sound. At Tuesday night's meeting, the Council admitted that Supervisor Kuehl never complained about the...
Conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder has won his fight to be on the September 14th recall ballot. The son of a restaurant owner, Elder has electrified Republicans with the possibility that they could defeat Gov. Gavin Newsom and replace him with the first statewide Republican officeholder since Arnold Schwarzeneggar. Elder sent out the following email: "Huge news, fellow conservative! We won our lawsuit against the California Secretary of State and are back on the...
The Santa Monica City Council announced on Thursday that it has selected David White to serve as Santa Monica’s next city manager. White’s employment contract – including an October 11 start date and salary – will be considered at the July 27 Council meeting, said city officials at last night’s special Council meeting. White currently serves as deputy city manager for the City of Berkeley, where he oversees internal service departments, public safety reform, economic...
Governor Newsom has signed AB 150 – a budget trailer bill – which includes the groundbreaking California Homeless Hiring Tax Credit. State officials said the tax credit "simultaneously confronts the homelessness crisis facing California while also addressing the job losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic that have disproportionately harmed low-income communities." Under this plan, a qualified employer can claim up to $30,000 in tax credits annually, assisting both individu...
A petition for the recall of the controversial, Los Angeles Councilman Mike Bonin was approved for circulation, the City Clerk announced this week. Bonin, who represents many Westside neighborhoods, including Venice, was served with a recall notice on June 15. Petitioners against Bonin cited his failed attempt to handle the Westside's homelessness crisis and his continued "failure to follow through on promises he made to his constituents." According to Recall Bonin 2021, the...
Legislation to address the growing epidemic of hate crimes has just passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill, AB 1126, authored by Assembly member Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), would establish the first statewide commission in California to not only accurately monitor and track hate crimes and incidents, but to formally recommend policy to the Governor and State Legislature. Bloom previously sat on the Santa Monica City Council for 13 years, serving as mayor three...
