By CHARLES ANDREWS
THE GLOVES ARE OFF
I’m a very patient man. Always have been. I have written for publication since high school, so I have a pretty good idea of what it takes to bring people to your point of view. It can be a glacial process. But I’m a very patient man.
The Byrds (“Turn! Turn! Turn,” 1965) reminded us, from Ecclesiastes (3: 1-8), through the prophet Peter Seeger, that there is a time for everything. Thing is, no one knows when a time has come, how long it will last, or what’s next. So this is a handy philosophy for explaining and accepting what is, but offers no guidance for tomorrow.
We have been suffering (and dying) through 10 years of never-dreamed-of chaos and cruelty, and attacks on our laws and Constitution, from our own elected and non-elected officials. We thought it was over when Trump lost to Biden by more than 7 million votes in 2020, and an electoral college landslide of 306-232. But thanks to gerrymandering and other political dirty tricks, the GOP emerged with control of all three branches of government, if you include the corrupt and partisan Supreme Court.
AND OUR CORRUPT CITY GOVERNMENT
has become turbocharged to remake our world-famous city by the sea into a Miami Beach-style high-rise tourist trap. We already get millions of tourists for the delights of unurban ocean views and sea breezes surrounding our famous beach we have always offered, but those will disappear when our beach is lined with rows of towering hotels and millionaire condos, right on the sand and blocking the ocean view on the bluffs above. Does that sound like a plan you approve of?
If it doesn’t, you need to become informed about what is shakin’ here politically, because if you thought we were getting sold down the river the last 20 or 30 years, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. The reprehensible Republicans in DC and across the country are coming for you if you are not white (and a lot of you who are), and our local greed mongers have taken note and are playing by the same “rules.” Subtlety and hiding are off the table; now it is more a matter of here it is, stop me if you can.
LET’S TAKE A PAUSE HERE
Because that sounds like pretty strong language. Yup. If the barn is on fire, or the beach is being put up for the highest bidder, it’s not the time to inquire, a little help here? It’s time to yell, fire!
Let me make one more point, writing with my gloves off. I don’t hate any of our politicians, elected or appointed officials, or staff. But I think some are terribly misguided, even to the point of being corrupt, and I hate what they are doing and plan to do to this amazing, historic, unique, cherished, irreplaceable, globally famous town on the beach on the edge of a sprawling urban goliath, and if I think I, we, need NOW to yell Fire! – I will. Over and over, until you see all the burn spots and realize it adds up to irreversible loss of our town, our democracy, our beacon nation, and that it has been orchestrated, and well-planned, for years. Some of us have been sounding this alarm for many years. Now it is time for all of us to pay attention. And do something.
Yeah, I know, that’s inconvenient, but so was Valley Forge in the winter snow with boots falling apart and no food or ammunition. Democracy, we have painfully learned of late, is not a given. Ben Franklin famously quipped right after the Constitutional Convention that we rejected monarchy and now had “a republic – if you can keep it.” The same goes for the kind of small city we residents love and want to keep. Both depend on an informed, engaged, and active citizenry. Good things don’t come free or easy. I’ll try to do my part on the informed.
Here’s the other thing. I know so many of us are discouraged and feel beat down by both local and national events. But there is a lot going on that points the other direction. A lot of people and groups getting together to fight for what they feel is right. That’s called community, and it is very important for all of us to feel that. We are not alone; we are not even in the minority. We are the majority, by millions. I will try to keep that good news coming in this column as well.
HOW ABOUT RIGHT NOW?
I’ve been referring often to our beach. More than anything, it defines Santa Monica, doesn’t it? I like the comparison of SM and our beach to New York’s Central Park. A huge open area of relief for a large urban population, a place to escape a hot, crowded neighborhood on a summer day. In this regard, some of us consider defending the beach our obligation to millions of Angelenos. Sadly, defending it against our own “leaders.”
So the recent machinations to turn our precious beach over to developers, to the exclusion of the rest of us, is particularly corrupt. It’s a complicated tale revolving around a state Assembly Bill 1740. The players: our Assembly Member Rick Zbur and his staff, who got the ball rolling and are now trying to cover their posteriors as outrage has grown; City Council Member Dan Hall, who journeyed to Sacramento to testify and support the bill, not as a private citizen but identifying himself as a Council Member, saying he was filling in for Mayor Caroline Torosis who couldn’t make it, note – Torosis, running this fall for re-election, seems to me very adept at keeping her name out of controversy (except when she doesn’t, as in the hiding from residents the activation on Ocean Avenue of two buildings for a private drug and mental rehab group, so, no community input); the Santa Monica Democratic Club, whose opposition to this bill seems a bit unpredictable, had opposition approved by a subcommittee, then “no recommendation” from the executive board, then a 66% vote by the entire membership to oppose it.
GET SMa.r.t
The columns in The Mirror by the SMa.r.t. group (Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow) have for 15 years given perspective on city issues, from those very experienced with city planning. They have been invaluable to understanding what is really going on, and they have been getting even more nuanced and insightful the last few years. Member Dan Jansenson wrote a series of three columns about this issue, 1740, that will give a deep (and frightening) understanding – here’s a link to the last one, and you can work your way back.
Fellow architect Jack Hillbrand’s piece last Friday is the first of three to lay out this important issue and the forces behind it.
GET RID OF THE 10 FREEWAY!
I have to throw in one more recent absurdity from a City Council that should be focusing on our many real-world problems. Council Member Ellis Raskin recently directed staff to study capping our portion of the 10 Freeway for park areas, and… eliminating the 10 completely. Can’t make this up. And Council Member Barry Snell seconded it. With a straight face? I don’t know.
Folks, this is who you voted for to lead this city. Please don’t make the same mistakes this fall.
Charles Andrews has lived in Santa Monica for 40 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or rebuke to him at therealmrmusic@gmail.com
