Crime Watch is a weekly series culled from reports provided by the Santa Monica Police Department. These are arrests only. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
DOWNTOWN — Deputy Police Chief Phil Sanchez, a 29-year-veteran of the Santa Monica Police Department, is close to becoming Pasadena’s next top cop, according to reports.
CITY HALL — A water rate hike approved this week by the Metropolitan Water District — which supplies Santa Monicans with 80 percent of their water — won’t lead to an additional price increase for residents, but higher water bills are still on the horizon for local rate payers.
DOWNTOWN — Banned meat from whales killed as part of Japan’s controversial “scientific” hunt was served at The Hump and an upscale sushi restaurant in Seoul, South Korean, according to a DNA analysis published Wednesday.
CITY HALL — The saga of Santa Monica’s lone, would-be bed and breakfast continues. The City Council on Tuesday night declined to give the owner of a seaside cottage the right to rent the property out to vacationers during half of the year, sending the proposal back to the Planning Commission for fur
DOWNTOWN — If all goes according to plan, in roughly three years Oscar winners will be lined up along a red carpet on Fourth Street for a premiere of the next box office blockbuster.
CITY HALL — Having failed, so far, to convince the City Council to enact a ban on smoking inside apartment units, Rent Control Board Commissioner Robert Kronovet is planning to take his pitch for stricter smoking laws directly to the voters.
SMMUSD HDQTRS — Under a plan officials said would save the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District more than a million dollars in energy costs, nine local public schools could soon get solar panels added to their roofs.
DOWNTOWN — The producers of the summer Twilight Dance Series of free concerts are able to add an eighth show to the lineup thanks to a $20,000 sponsorship deal with the Bayside District Corp.
CITY HALL — Traffic jams in one of the most congested sections of the city could be reduced by as much as 20 percent if the City Council tonight approves a new traffic signal timing plan for the Downtown area, according to City Hall.
MAIN STREET— If you frequent the tamale booth or the pastry table at the Main Street Farmers’ Market, you could be in for a surprise later this year when city officials unveil a new policy that’s likely to shake-up the mix of prepared food vendors allowed at that and other markets.
Dear EarthTalk How effective have plastic bag bans and restrictions been on reducing plastic litter and other problems associated with their proliferation? And is it really better to use paper bags, which will just lead to more deforestation? Peter Lindsey New Canaan, Conn.
