Open Space… Is There Any Left?
Yes there is. Small as it is, there is about 2.5 acres in the heart of downtown waiting to be designed as a public park/plaza. Well, maybe. Our city has designed and approved a Downtown […]
No Excuses: Stop the Crime Wave
My mother turned 91 last Saturday. Happy Birthday, Mom! She has walked the streets of Santa Monica her whole life and almost always lived in our Mid-City Neighborhood, between Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards. She’s […]
SMa.r.t. Column: Gridlocked Best Intentions
On any given evening (and especially weekends) pay a visit to north-bound 2nd Street between Broadway Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard, and you’ll encounter a world-class clusterpuck. A cast-in-cement gridlock that often extends back along […]
Is Santa Monica’s Heart for Sale?
Note from SMa.r.t.: This article, in a longer form, was originally published four years ago but is still as pertinent as ever. The Plaza at Santa Monica asks a simple question: Is our downtown the […]
The Myth of “Public” Art in Santa Monica
Over the past few years, the Stanton MacDonald Wright murals at the entrance to Santa Monica City Hall have stirred up a controversy. They were a Works Progress Administration project funded during America’s Great Depression. […]
A Clean(er) Energy Future in SM
Where do we get our electricity? Until now, from Southern California Edison. But beginning next month, Santa Monica residents will have a second option: The Clean Power Alliance, a collaborative organization of public agencies in […]
The City Must Redo and Recirculate the EIR for the Massive Project at 4th and Arizona
Let’s just say it: This is Hines ALL OVER AGAIN! An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that doesn’t select qualified alternatives to the project that would have fewer environmental impacts so as to choose a better […]
Does Santa Monica’s New Water Ordinance “Hold Water”? (Part 2)
While few would question our City’s need to conserve our precious water resources, some might take issue with the City’s current strategy. As discussed in a previous article, the city’s primary target for water conservation […]
So Now What?
The case was tried, the decision is in, and the City lost. The judge has ordered that all future City Council elections be district based in accordance with a seven-district map submitted by the Plaintiffs. […]
Does Santa Monica’s new Water Ordinance “Hold Water”? (Part 1)
While some natural resources may be optional, water is not one of them. Our body is 60 percent water and cannot survive without it. In Southern California we live in a Mediterranean climate with cold […]