Last week, I left town for a long weekend and missed a lot of action — some good, some bad and some wacky. The good Texas developer Hines has postponed an upcoming Planning Commission review of its proposed Bergamot Transit Village Center until year’s end or early 2013.
CITY HALL — City officials remained silent as the Airport Commission hosted a series of presentations Monday night examining how flights at Santa Monica Airport could be reduced or altogether ended and what could be done with the land afterward.
CITYWIDE — If afflicted with the drunk munchies while wandering Main Street on a weekend, revelers have two options: Hit up Holy Guacamole, or walk to Los Angeles.
CITY HALL — A coalition of neighborhood groups from Santa Monica and West Los Angeles made their case Monday for downsizing a proposed development on the east end of town that they say will create more traffic in an area already plagued by gridlock.
CITY HALL — Would-be restaurateurs will soon see their options expand after the City Council approved unanimously a zoning change to permit more than one restaurant per block on a section of Main Street.
OCEAN PARK BLVD — Think the cost of your health insurance is too high? Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog does. The nonprofit, which advocates on behalf of taxpayers, has launched an online petition to put insurance reform on the ballot by the next statewide election.
DOWNTOWN — President Barack Obama is promising a fresh boost to the economy by making it easier for foreign tourists to travel to the U.S., a move welcomed by Santa Monica officials.
SAMOHI — Officials from Santa Monica High School, the school district and police department took heat from parents Tuesday night who gathered to hear what was being done to keep their children safe in the wake of fights that broke out on and off campus in preceding weeks.
EASTSIDE — A unique development model meant to make home ownership affordable on Santa Monica’s eastside may turn into more rental housing because of financing issues, highlighting the ongoing struggle to make home ownership affordable in Santa Monica.
From the Arab Spring uprisings to the Occupy Wall Street movement and austerity rallies, 2011 was the year of the protest. Dictators were toppled and governments put on notice as ordinary citizens used social media to do the extraordinary — spread a wave of dissent across continents.
CITYWIDE — It’s the season of big requests and even bigger dreams, a time where we reflect on the year behind us, make plans for the one ahead and hope that somewhere along the way, we can get a little help with some of our pie in the sky hopes.
There’s more than joy in the air this holiday season. I’m thinking wackiness. For going on six decades a coalition of local churches has erected tableaus in Palisades Park illustrating the biblical Christmas story, and a Jewish group has a menorah display.
