August 11, 2026
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Opinion pieces, editorials and letters to the editor on Santa Monica issues from Santa Monica Mirror.

Thomas B. Elias, Columnist

Special District Nest Eggs as a Budget Solution:

Once again, a logical solution to California’s estimated $25 billion budget quandary stares the state in the face. All the money that would be needed to keep all services going, pay all state employees and […]

Japan Lesson: Slowly Relicense California Nukes:

Foresight is a quality rarely seen among politicians in Sacramento, which makes it remarkable that 10 state legislators actually displayed a lot of it barely two weeks before the devastating March 11 9.0 Japanese earthquake […]

Steve Stajich, Columnist

Left Vulnerable on a Small Planet:

It was the rarest of things; a coincidence of word choice and unforeseen natural disaster. In wanting to forcefully express a thought and add some dynamic word usage to last week’s column in this newspaper, […]

Thomas B. Elias, Columnist

Reality of Budget Cuts Starts to Hit Home:

Until this month, the impact of California’s impending budget cuts was purely theoretical. Sure, there have been warnings aplenty about cuts to schools, police, adult day care, prisons, Medi-Cal, state parks and much more. But […]

Steve Stajich, Columnist

Separation of Church and Sheen:

There’s a tsunami of speech rolling over the planet, and yet it comes at a time when many Americans are wondering if we’ve all gone “free expression” crazy. Yes, let’s all be free… to type […]