SM.a.r.t, Author at Santa Monica News, Events & Local Politics

Concept rendering of connections that will run through Bergamot Village.

News May 25, 2018

Art + Walk + Wellness = Olympic Art Trail

Thousands of cars inch along Santa Monica’s Olympic Blvd each day. Lanes separated by a center median that was, at one time, Red Car train tracks, have a heavy traffic load that for hours allows […]

News May 18, 2018

Opinion: A Treemendous Victory

…was how Jerry Rubin, Santa Monica’s own professional positivist, described Monday night’s down to the wire Landmark Commission vote to landmark the huge Sycamore at 1122 California Ave., near the intersection of 12th Street […]

News May 11, 2018

SM.a.r.t Opinion: Our Data, Our Privacy Part 3

In recent articles we stated that the City of Santa Monica gathers data about its citizens (and obtains it from other sources too), and suggested ways to protect that information, with oversight from […]

News May 4, 2018

Opinion: SMa.r.t. “Who’s Listening!?”

This article was being written as our City Council was spending a weekend retreat in Virginia Park addressing the City’s five strategic goals using “data driven planning” to solve “mobility,” “inclusiveness and diversity,” re-purposing […]

News April 27, 2018

Opinion: SM.a.r.t: The Wall (not music to our eyes)

The Fairmont Miramar Hotel has released its revised design concept, and, not unexpectedly, the local resident responses, per several local Facebook pages, has been one of great concern and rejection, eliciting what appears to be […]

Opinion March 9, 2018

SMa.r.t.-ARB (All Ready to Build?)

By Bob Taylor Santa Monica City’s Architectural Review Board (ARB), established in 1974, acts “to preserve existing areas of natural beauty, cultural importance and assure that buildings, structures, signs or other developments are in good […]

Opinion January 26, 2018

SMa.r.t.-Mansionization Redux

Bob Taylor, AIA for SMa.r.t. Recently our City Manager, Rick Cole, was quoted regarding the imminent threat of larger single-family homes negatively impacting adjacent homes and commercial properties in our beach town. The threat is […]