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Ballot measures: here today, gone tomorrow
It looks like Armen Melkonians and his Residocracy movement has been successful in floating a ballot measure that would require voter approval for overly large developments within our borders....
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Renters being soaked by landlord lawsuit?
A couple of weeks ago, a group of local apartment owners sued the City of Santa Monica’s Rent Control Board alleging that prohibiting them from charging tenants for water use is a violation of the...
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Time for an attitude adjustment?
Have you noticed? Here we are living in one of the greatest places on earth and everyone is copping attitude. You’d think in times of peace, prosperity and beautiful weather people would be happy, but...
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Is Santa Monica’s LUVE initiative a threat to City Council?
The fall election is still five months off and already a number of issues are getting plenty of pre-election buzz. The major issue is the Land Use Voter Empowerment (LUVE) initiative that will be...
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Santa Monica-Malibu schools in crisis on every level
A number of serious, ongoing issues have plagued the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District for decades. One of those has been the “achievement gap” — a term stating that demographically white...
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Independence from taxes and loud fireworks
You’re sitting there, sipping your coffee. You know there was something you wanted to do this morning. But, it is the Fourth of July. Awww. Fourth of July! Holy Stars and Stripes! You’re missing the...
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Myriad issues amount to crisis for SMMUSD
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that the Santa Monica-Malibu schools were in crisis on every level. The problems run long and deep and extend into just about every aspect of the Santa Monica-Malibu...
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Lookin’ for LUVE in Santa Monica
Residocracy hosted its kick-off meeting at the Santa Monica library a week ago Sunday. The purpose of the meeting was to organize various committees to work on Residocracy’s Land Use Voter Empowerment...
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A crock by any other name
I’ve been writing “My Write” for nearly 16 years. Prior to that, I contributed my creative skills to the online Ocean Park Gazette. That’s nearly two decades of pithy commentary, astute observations...
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Politics is like a knife in the back
You find out who your friends really are when you decide to run of office. Ask Phil Brock. He ran for City Council in 2014 and lost by a few hundred votes. He competed against Kevin McKeown, Sue...
View ArticleMy Write: ‘We are good social scientists’
Beth Rolandson, principal transportation planner with the Planning and Community Development Division previewed the City’s new Pedestrian Action Plan (PAP) in front of about 70 folks at the...
View ArticleCouncil stiffs residents, again
Residents lost again at the post Super Bowl brawl in City Council chambers last Tuesday night. There’s the sports amenity proposed for the parking lot at the Civic Auditorium favored by students,...
View ArticleDowntown Community Plan full of lofty ideals
The long awaited draft of the Downtown Specific Plan, now retitled the Downtown Community Plan (DCP), is finally available on the City’s website. The Plan sets general planning goals for the area...
View ArticleMy Write: The devil in the details
I heard from our city manager, Rick Cole, last week. He wanted to discuss my column last week about the draft Downtown Community Plan (DCP). “Our goal is to establish, once and for all, without...
View ArticleShowing the world some LUVE
Signature gathering to place the LUVE (Land Use Voter Empowerment) ballot initiative before Santa Monica voters in November kicked off yesterday at a rally at the Robert Berman Gallery in the Bergamot...
View ArticleCity-planned festivities for Expo a waste of money
Apparently, City Hall staff is worried that many will not be aware of Metro’s Expo light rail service when it begins operation to Santa Monica, May 20. That’s as if you won’t be aware of a 270 foot...
View Article500 Broadway: Another monument to bad planning
A few days ago, the Planning Commission voted 6 to 1 to recommend that City Council approve a development agreement for a seven-story (84 foot) mixed-use apartment building at 500 Broadway, formerly...
View ArticleBloom’s ‘sugar tax’ leaves a sour taste
Assemblyman Richard Bloom likes to beat dead horses. Once again, he’s floating another proposal for a “sugar tax.” Never mind that two previous efforts of mandating a statewide tax on sugar-sweetened...
View ArticleUpcoming elections – development No. 1 issue
With an election coming in eight months, the question is whether the local political powerhouse Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR) will be able to maintain its grip for a fourth decade. The...
View ArticleStraight out of rehab
If you don’t want a lot of unwanted attention, don’t fall in a doctor’s office. Thursday, April 7. I had another in a series of ongoing doctor’s appointments for my ongoing gastrointestinal problems. I...
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