In a city where most residents keep abreast with the issues, it seems nothing escapes the scrutiny of the public, be it a controversial high-rise condo development in a largely single-family neighborhood or something as seemingly mundane as a provocative TV ad for a modeling competition on the side of a bus.
In 2007, it seemed Santa Monicans always had a cause for which to fight, issues like the noise pollution caused by large jet planes cruising into a municipal airport or the battle between local law enforcement officials and a band of free-spirited bicyclists, roaming the city streets in an effort to assert their right to the road.
In Santa Monica, there was always something to talk about in 2007, the good and the bad.
Celebrities seemed to have taken a liking to Santa Monica this year, thrusting the city into the national spotlight with coverage in television entertainment news shows and tabloid magazines, thanks to the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton.
The “Herbie Fully Loaded” star, Lohan, put her racing skills to good use when she was allegedly fully loaded during a wild ride through the city in the early morning hours of July 24, chasing the distraught mother of a former assistant, ending nearby in what was clearly an unfavorable spot for Lohan — within earshot of the Santa Monica Police Department. Lohan was booked for driving under the influence among other drug-related charges.
Hilton grabbed headlines a month later when she and model Zeta Graff were scheduled to meet in the Santa Monica Courthouse for a defamation suit dating back to 2005. A group of disappointed entertainment journalists and bloggers sadly left the courthouse on the morning of Aug. 22 after learning that Hilton and Graff’s lawyers had settled out of court.
The city appeared — statistically — like a much more dangerous place for pedestrians in 2007, a year that saw the number of pedestrian-and automobile-related crashes at its highest frequency in recent memory. At least 15 people have been struck by a vehicle, six of whom were killed. Many of the crashes have involved the elderly, representing both the driver and the pedestrian.
Most recently, a 94-year-old driver struck and killed an 80-year-old woman as she walked across Colorado Avenue at 16th Street in a marked crosswalk on Dec. 1. The startling statistic has senior citizens calling on city officials to find some ways to make the streets safer to traverse.
Then there’s the good. A new trophy case will have to be built in City Hall, considering the amount of awards given to the city of Santa Monica in the past year, from culinary achievements handed out by Zagat to the distinction as being one of the 10 greenest cities in the country, awarded by real estate Web company, Move.com.
But that was just a taste of the flavor of life in Santa Monica throughout 2007. Issues like the anti-smoking campaign and the move to save a humble group of ficus trees in downtown Santa Monica molded the city in ways unimaginable, issues that sometimes banded together residents, but in some cases, created divisions between city officials and residents, residents and residents, and city officials and city officials.
These are the issues that shaped life in Santa Monica in 2007:
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 29, 2007. Read the original PDF.