Column: Adapting to Westside Vacancies
By Avi Sinai We all see the vacant storefronts around the Westside and it begs the question – why are they empty for so long? Despite a sizzling real estate market on the westside we […]
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 […]
AI in the Year 2020… Almost
By Nektar Baziotis In 1966 Gene Rodenberry’s “Star Trek” made its television debut on NBC. Audiences young and old were captivated by the show, particularly by its imagination of the space, the future, and the incredible […]
Beausoleil: First Parole Test for Newsom
Not many Californians under 60 can recall just who is the 71-year-old Bobby Beausoleil and what evils he did back in his youth. But the onetime Charles Manson “Family” member will now provide a first […]
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. […]
We’ll Find Out if Prop. 13 is Still a Sacred Cow
It’s been almost 41 years since Proposition 13 passed in 1978, lowering property taxes for every home, apartment building, commercial structure, farm and parking lot in California. Through almost all that time, the initiative sponsored […]
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 […]
Column: Regulating Medium-Term Rentals
By Avi Sinai Last month Santa Monica City Council announced that it is considering stricter regulations against ‘medium-term rentals.’ This is just one decision in a long list of problematic solutions that don’t address the […]
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 […]
Will Asians Spur New Political Changes?
The same sort of panic that hit California’s Latinos after the 1994 passage of the anti-illegal immigrant Proposition 187 is now hitting many of this state’s almost 6 million ethnic-Asian residents. Latino fears in the […]
Meals on Wheels West LA Urgently Seeks Holiday Volunteers for Meal Deliveries
Brentwood-Based Program Needs Help Delivering Meals During the Holidays Meals on Wheels West Los Angeles is urgently seeking additional volunteers to...
Read more
Housing Group Sues State Over Limits on Post-Wildfire Rebuilding in L.A. County
YIMBY Law Challenges Governor’s Order Allowing Cities to Restrict SB 9 Housing in High Fire Hazard Zones The housing advocacy...
Read more
