Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
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Washington (dpa) - A federal judge on Monday ruled against President Donald Trump's legal team in its attempt to block a congressional committee's subpoena for years of the Trump Organization's financial records. The judge refused to block the subpoena, which came last month from the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Representative Elijah Cummings, chairman of the committee, issued the subpoena to Mazars USA, the long-time accounting firm for the president and the Trump Organization. Trump's...
Washington (dpa) – US President Donald Trump vowed Sunday to deny Tehran nuclear weapons just hours after threatening it would "be the official end of Iran" when the country's Revolutionary Guard said it was not afraid of war. "I will not let Iran have nuclear weapons," Trump told Fox News. "I don't want to fight. But you do have situations like Iran, you can't let them have nuclear weapons - you just can't let that happen," he said. Prior to the interview Trump had appeared to escalate the g...
City staff are asking the Council to contract with an outside consultant to manage their homeless tracking system. In order for the City to receive federal funds for homelessness, they are required to maintain a standardized Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). Until 2014, the City used its own employees to man the system but then decided it would be more effective to hire outside help. The "scope of work and necessary expertise was not suited to the level of the budgeted position,...
With an Indian general election outcome looming in the horizon, the US must reflect on what this means for its relationship with India moving forward. The outcome of world's largest democratic exercise will have repercussions for the US. Whatever you may think of President Trump, it is apparent that he has a strategic ally and genuine counterpart in India. PM Modi and President Trump share a warm and genuine friendship and have mutual respect for each other. This is a far cry from the...
Tehran (dpa) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ruled out a war with the United States. "Neither we or the United States want a war, that is why that is not going to happen," Khamenei told Iranian state television Tuesday. He said Iran had chosen "the path of resistance" and likened negotiations with Washington to "poison." Khamenei was confident that Iran would come out on top in the end. "We have the stronger will and the stronger [religious] belief," the ayatollah asserted....
Moscow (dpa) - A visit from the top American diplomat to Russia was blighted by disputes over the Iranian nuclear program and the Venezuelan political crisis even as Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed hope for mending frayed ties between the former rivals. Major points of contention quickly surfaced on Tuesday after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, both assured that their countries want to mend their strained relations. "This...
RAND Suggests Nonviolent Ways to Exploit Russian Vulnerabilities Russia's use of information warfare and its conventional military arsenal make it a formidable opponent, but the state also has significant weaknesses that could be exploited, according to a new report from the RAND Corporation. The report examines a range of nonviolent measures the United States could take to stress Russia's military, its economy or the regime's political standing at home and abroad. The steps would be designed...
Here are the 10 reasons why I think the current prime minister of India, Narendra Modi will win a second term and be victorious on May the 23rd, in the Lok Sabha elections. My prediction is that his party, the BJP will sweep the required majority in the parliament, 272 seats by itself and Modi will be sworn in again as the new Prime Minister of India: 1. Modi leadership For the first time in 72 years, Indians are truly proud to be Indian. This is due to Modi's great standing as a global leader a...
In a couple of days, will take place the largest democratic exercise on the planet. India will be voting in its parliamentary general election. In a country of 1.3 BILLION people, a whopping 900 MILLION people will be voting. In contrast, in the 2016 US election- a tiny 137 million Americans voted. The Indian electoral process is vibrant and Indians take a lot of pride in their democratic right to vote and let their voices be heard. It is a real feat, fair and free elections for almost a...
San Francisco is a wealthy city. Why exactly don't they cure the feces on the street problem? Like every other American issue, it depends on your political perspective. Progressives view this as a non problem, invented by the same shop owners who close their bathrooms off to the homeless, who of course are doing the squatting. A discussion on Quora.com, indicates that progressives do not see poop, which is mostly reported in tourist areas that residents avoid. "With all the homeless comes human...
I have serious concerns about the qualifications and performance of the Santa Monica Social Services Commission, and particularly its Chair Mr. Parent, as well as the staff liaison Ms. Yavari, whose job it is to assist the commission in fulfilling its responsibilities under the law. Chair Parent seems to be uninformed about the role of the Commission he is chairing. He stated on social media, "We are a volunteer, independent citizen's commission that works to educate itself and think about...
When Step Up on 26th Street came to our street 3 years ago, I decided to become informed, so I have attended every Santa Monica Housing Commission meeting for the last 3 years. I am not on any Board or Commission for the City of Santa Monica and so I am free to express my opinions and relate what I have observed. First of all, any funds from the Housing Trust Fund must be loaned, granted or given to one of the local non-profits who are developers of affordable housing in this City. They include...
By January 8, when the City Council voted to increase water rates in the city, there had already been well-above-average rainfall throughout California. To date, California has received 18 trillion gallons of rain this season. This is nearly half the volume of Lake Tahoe. However, the Santa Monica City Council voted to approve city staff's recommendation for a 9 percent hike in water rates. This increase is estimated to raise the monthly bill for single-family home by $4.33. Multi-family homes,...
On Monday, the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative awarded $4.5 million to five different organizations in a contest to propose "game-changing creative and scalable permanent housing solutions for those experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County." Voters of LA County approved Measure H in March, 2017. This law added a 1/4-cent sales tax throughout Los Angeles that was to be devoted to homeless services and programs. It is projected to generate $355 million each year for ten years. The...
A San Diego politician lost his federal lawsuit challenging California's Voting Rights Act. Don Higginson, former mayor of Poway, a city in San Diego County, had sued in 2017, claiming the drawing of new districts in his area was effectively gerrymandering and was designed to discriminate against him and other whites. Higginson was represented by the nonprofit Project on Fair Representation, a legal defense firm concerned with challenging racial and ethnic classifications and preferences in...
In her first campaign speech as a presidential hopeful for the 2020 election, Kamala Harris, presently the junior Senator from California, roused the crowd with her progressive agenda and enthusiastically included the now-requisite alarm sirens regarding climate change. "Let's speak truth - climate change is real, and it is happening now," Harris told her adoring crowd. She added, "Everybody here knows from wildfires in the west to hurricanes in the east, to floods and droughts in the...
At the Commission's 1/28/19 meeting multiple speakers expressed their frustration with the Commission's reluctance to act. Public comments by Olga Zurawska are below. The Santa Monica Social Services Commission has been hearing about the failures of the City's homeless services provider, OPCC dba The People Concern, for about fourteen months now. The Commission has heard multiple times about the warehousing of homeless clients, about the intimidation and civil rights violations including elder n...
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- With the enactment of the continuing resolution, staff at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) have resumed regular operations. Some areas of the park remain closed, however, due to impacts from the Woolsey Fire. Paramount Ranch, Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa, Cheeseboro/Palo Comado Canyons, and the Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center are open. The popular Sandstone Peak Trail has also reopened, but the rest of the park is still closed and will...
On Wednesday night, volunteers in Santa Monica and across Los Angeles County conducted the annual Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. From 10:30 pm until 2:30 am, volunteers in teams canvassed the streets to count the people they could see sleeping in public spaces. While the 300-plus volunteers went through the city by foot or by car, area shelters, transitional programs, and hospitals also counted the homeless in their facilities. Joining as volunteers for the count were the Santa Monica City...
To the surprise of no one, the Santa Monica City Council appointed longtime resident and community activist Ana M. Jara to fill the city council seat vacated by Tony Vazquez. Vazquez resigned in January to take on his newly-elected duties at the State Board of Equalization. The remaining council members were then obliged to appoint a replacement. 76 applicants threw their hat into the ring, but many observers predicted the council would pick an Hispanic for the seat. Earlier this month, a...
Update, 1/16/19: Justice Ginsburg today cancelled a public appearance set for January 29, 2019, as she remains in a hospital fighting Pneumonia. The elderly judge appears to be nearing the end of her life, as the Trump administration asks allies for suggestions to replace her. Jan 29 in LA - Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Cancels Public Appearance in Los Angeles Set for January 29 https://t.co/ilYdXI05NH via @gatewaypundit As any reader of the Santa Monica Observer knew last September, Ruth Bader...
The sad news broke Friday morning. US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 85, underwent surgery for lung cancer. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/21/supreme-court-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-85-reportedly-undergoes-lung-procedure-.html Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 85, underwent a lung procedure on Friday, the Supreme Court said in a release. She is "resting comfortably" at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. There was no evidence of any remaining disease...
The California Republican Party is like a big, empty aircraft carrier drifting along the coast. It could be powerful, if there were any people on it and if it had a plan to go somewhere. Here's a political messaging quiz: What did Republican candidates in California promise to do if elected? Take your time. Think of anything yet? There are millions of California voters of all party registrations who are looking for answers to the problems that are making their lives difficult - high utility...
Update, My Take, and My Analysis on the California Voter Rights Act (CVRA) post-trial hearing that was held in Judge Yvette Palazuelos Courtroom on Friday December 7th to discuss proposals for remedies in legalizing Santa Monica's illegal at-large election system; or in other words abandoning the at-large based election system and implementing district-based elections. No decision was made by the Judge on Friday. The City's attorneys tried to sneak in a re-argument of the merits case, while...
It may come as a disappointment to city cheerleaders and cause an eye-roll to the rest of us that the city has announced their plan to become "self-sufficient" in water use has been delayed by three years. Back in 2011, the Santa Monica City Council - largely the same people it is today, seven years later - set a goal of reaching water self-sufficiency by 2020. One can only speculate that their idea was it was somehow more environmentally friendly and also cost-efficient to use local well water...
