CITY HALL — Neighbors of Santa Monica Place on Wednesday succeeded in shutting down, at least temporarily, an attempt by Macerich Co. to extend the number of hours people could purchase alcohol on the mall’s patios.
CITY HALL — As the state battles to meet Gov. Jerry Brown’s March 9 budget deadline, cities like Santa Monica face a difficult choice — cut hundreds of millions of dollars worth of planned projects or risk getting the funding pulled out from under them mid-stream.
Dear EarthTalk: Isn’t it a waste that we buy water in plastic bottles when it is basically free out of our taps? Even health food stores, which should know better, sell it like crazy.
CITY HALL — The City Council gave the green light to a study that represents the first step in a process to determine the future of the Santa Monica Airport in 2015 after its agreement with the federal government expires.
Dear EarthTalk: Vice-President Joe Biden just announced a commitment by the Obama administration of $53 billion to high speed rail. Isn’t it about time? Why is the U.
Dear EarthTalk: In his recent State of the Union Address, President Obama called for a million electric vehicles on American roads by 2015. How likely is it that we’ll attain that goal? Jerry Mitlitski, Salem, Ore.
Editor’s note: This story is part of an ongoing series that tracks the second and final reading of ordinances approved by the City Council. Second readings are generally held without public comment, although the issues have been discussed, often at length, during prior City Council meetings.
Dear EarthTalk: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had its 40th anniversary in 2010. How effective has the EPA been and what are its biggest challenges today? — Bill A.
Editor’s note: This story is part of an ongoing series that tracks the city’s expenditures appearing on upcoming Santa Monica City Council consent agendas.
Dear EarthTalk Aren’t environmental issues primarily about health? Detractors like to trivialize environmentalists as “tree huggers,” but the bottom line is that pollution makes us sick, right? Wouldn’t people care more if they had a better understanding of that? Tim Douglas, Stowe, VT No doubt many
CITY HALL — Santa Monica officials are free to set up the taxi cab franchise system the City Council adopted last month despite a pending claim the city discriminated against Armenian-Americans when it selected franchisees, a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge ruled Wednesday morning.