By CHARLES ANDREWS
It’s good to be back with CURIOUS CITY, 14+ years old, and now in The Mirror. Thank you, publisher TJ, and Editor Dolores, fine folks to work with. And to former Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock for believing in me and laying the groundwork. The best way to see it every other Friday, along with my weekly NOTEWORTHY music and arts calendar column, is to subscribe, free, no strings, to my substack MUSIC, POLITICS, LIFE, at –
OCT. 14, 2025
That’s the date that will always live in infamy, as the night our City Council turned their backs, for no good reason I have heard, on a well thought out, professionally planned effort by top professionals in the entertainment business, to save the Civic, restore it and bring it back to performance status, at zero cost to the residents or the City of Santa Monica. Kind of a miracle, if you ask me. But I’ve only been in the business for more than 55 years, what do I know compared to the smart, experienced young pros on our City Council?
It would have been a savings of tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars, resulting in an internationally revered venue coming back to life, as a well-known hub around which to build more recognition of Santa Monica as a city of the arts. A life which would have lifted so many other businesses here. Concert tourists usually come from more than 50 miles away, and they spend lots on meals, shopping, and even hotels. The group’s study projected an average tourist expenditure of more than $330, in comparison to the average tourist spending about $30. But again, the savvy pros on City Council must know what they are doing to reject such a dream offer, right?
Maybe I’m just not looking at this the right way. You know, through younger eyes. Council member Zwick recently posted on his Instagram page: “When I joined the council three years ago, the city was foundering and the median age on the dais was… much older. Proud to be a part of a youth movement putting forward a bold plan to turn our city around.”
GIVEN THIS INNATE WISDOM
Apparently biological, for which no amount of experience can compensate, it makes sense that their bold plan for an economic and social
“Renaissance,” presented and approved Tuesday night by the Council, did not need any input from the community, the residents whose future they were planning and deciding. Especially, I presume, since so many residents are too old to know better.
Zwick has been on Council, as he says, for three years. Is there nothing he could have done to solve these problems, until deciding to “make a plan”? On his Facebook page, former Mayor Brock sarcastically thanked Zwick and Torosis for finally finding the good sense in his proposals, of his four years on Council, and now adopting them.
But let’s get back to the Civic.
This was not a disagreement over policy or planning. This was one of those issues where we have to start calling BS. We waste so much time and energy being distracted from the real issues, to endlessly debate the nuances and details of pure BS. Two weeks before the vote, the Council asked staff to look at “the numbers” and assess their validity. Are you kidding me? This city and its staff are proveably, laughably inept at fiscal management. And you are going to let a staff with no expertise in a very complex business area with a long history, evaluate their work of several months, and pronounce that “the numbers don’t add up?” I almost choked when I heard that.
The party line I heard several times was that “the numbers didn’t add up” in the proposal by the RPG Group, for restoration. But let’s say the numbers didn’t add up. What have you got to lose from letting them try it? The city is investing and risking nothing. If the RPG Group got partway in and discovered they had misfigured, we get to keep whatever it was they did accomplish. No charge, no risk. All they were asking the council for at that meeting was an extension of time, maybe only three months, to verify their findings. So they don’t get too far and too many millions of their own investment into something they thought would not ultimately pencil out. What in the world are you talking about?
WHEN SOMETHING DOESN’T MAKE SENSE
Chances are there is a hidden agenda, and you are not being told everything.That is the case here, and it gets a little long, but it does make sense, for certain special interest groups, but not for the current residents or the future and legacy of Santa Monica. Those four above did a great harm to our city and should be turned out. Stay tuned on why this was such a terrible act by these four, and what is really behind it. (Secret clue: $$$)
Charles Andrews has lived in Santa Monica for 39 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or rebuke to him at therealmrmusic@gmail.com
