Lionsgate, the Santa Monica studio behind the "Hunger Games" films, will acquire cable and satellite network Starz for a combination of cash and stock totaling $4.4 billion, the two companies announced today.

Funeral services were pending Tuesday for Santa Monica’s Simon Ramo, a lifetime member of the Caltech Board of Trustees, a co-founder of TRW Inc. and the chief scientific mind behind the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missile system.

Essentia is hosting a ‘A Summer Celebration’ featuring recent works by three local artists: Gino Perez, Kathy Shorkey and Jason Ryan.

A performance of “Room 17” by our own Steve Stajich takes place at the Great Scott Theatre at the MET Theater building, 1089 N. Oxford Avenue, Los Angeles tonight.

Fridays are Julia Torrano’s favorite day of the week. There’s the TGIF thing of course, but that’s not the main reason. What she enjoys most is her weekly, four-hour volunteer shift visiting older patients as part of the Companion Care Program at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica.

Assemblymember Richard Bloom will be honoring Andrew “Andy” Harland at the ninth annual “Veterans of the Year” Luncheon.

Two California Assembly Committees have passed important, life-saving drunk driving legislation with unanimous votes. The next stop for SB 1046 by Senator Jerry Hill, which would require ignition interlocks for all drunk driving offenders in California, is the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

In response to Los Angeles’s escalating homelessness crisis, the Salvation Army organized a team of more than 50 volunteers to hand out prepared meals to Santa Monica’s homeless population this past Saturday.

The New West Symphony announced Wednesday that it has received a $10,000 grant from the Annenberg Foundation’s Alchemy program and a $3,500 grant from the League of American Orchestras to support the development of a four-year strategic plan as the Symphony approaches its 25th anniversary celebration during the 2019-2020 concert season.

In conjunction with the pop-up gallery, Sun Sand Sea, a collection of vintage photographs of Santa Monica and Venice circa 1920 to 1950, Santa Monica Place presents Sun Sand Sea Events – Art Talk and Kids Art.