Local News Briefs

3 Arrested For Parking Booth Robbery

Three men suspected in the armed robbery of a Santa Monica parking booth were arrested today after a freeway traffic stop, police said.

One of the suspects was armed with handgun when the robbery took place around 6:15 p.m. at 1301 Fourth St., said Santa Monica police Sgt. Mario Toti.

Officers caught up with the suspects’ vehicle on the eastbound side of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway near Centinela Avenue and arrested all three men, who are in their 20s, Toti said.

The suspects were in the process of being booked and it was unclear what possible charges they might ultimately face, the sergeant said.

Twitter Rents Pico and Main Street Buildings

Twitter is on its way to Santa Monica, taking over two adjacent one-story buildings at Pico Boulevard and Main Street. The tech giant is making some still-unknown changes to the building, which recently housed an ad agency. It’s being tight-lipped about the upgrades, as well as everything else, including how many employees it’s setting up in SaMo or when they’ll move in (city docs indicate August 1, but the windows remain covered). Twitter’s arrival bucks a recent trend of tech companies departing the beach city and moving to bigger digs in Playa Vista or Venice (e.g.,Google, Whisper, IMAX, Sony Santa Monica, Riot Games). SaMo planners want more creative office space, especially near the city’s forthcoming Expo stations, but they’ll have to placate development-averse locals, who recently managed to kill a giant mixed-user near the Bergamot station.

Starbucks to Sell Wine and Beer

Starbucks located in the new extension of Olympic Blvd, under the City’s Unaffordable housing complex called “BelMar,” has applied for a license to sell wine and beer. Local residents are floored, that drivers will be sold wine and beer across from the courthouse, police station and City Hall.

In case you were concerned Starbucks is moving away from its core coffee business as it launches carbonated beverages and lunch sandwiches, it insists it is not.

CEO Howard Schultz said the company is keeping its laser focus on coffee. But it is also moving forward with other cold refreshments, and Schultz said they see it as an entrance into other evening offerings.

It won’t just be wine and beer, which the company already sells at some locations, but also food and other offerings, said Cliff Burrows, Starbucks head for Americas.