> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Seeing what’s in the works
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/seeing-whats-in-the-works/
- Published: 2006-07-13T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T18:53:55.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By EMILIE PHELPS Special to the Daily Press*

CITYWIDE — The continual construction in Santa Monica makes some wonder what the city is doing with their tax dollars. Sitting through City Council meetings to find out can prove time-consuming, but there are other ways to be in the know.

This past weekend, 43 Santa Monicans were privy to an extensive, in-depth tour of the city’s 37 recent construction projects and park improvements. At 9:30 a.m. on Saturday they boarded a Big Blue Bus and headed off to see dirt piles, finished projects and visions of Santa Monica’s future.

This eighth-annual tour of “Whole Lotta Projects Goin’ On” is part of the Leadership Series — a number of short courses intended to inform a group of citizens, who will in turn engage the community with their inside information. City Hall spokeswoman Judy Franz created the event eight years ago.

The roughly three-hour tour was highlighted by both city and private projects, funded by numerous sources including city, county, state or federal grants, private investments and taxes.

The tour can accommodate up to 50 people who register on a first-come, first-serve basis. Participants

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 13, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/071306.pdf?ref=smdp.com)