CITY HALL — Cab companies will now have to battle for the right to pick up customers in Santa Monica after the City Council on Tuesday established a more stringent licensing system to relieve a notoriously overcrowded taxi population.
CITY HALL — A challenging past several months trying to balance a budget hit by state funding cuts and drops in sales tax revenue reached a relatively satisfactory conclusion on Tuesday night when the City Council adopted a roughly half billion dollar package for fiscal 2009-10.
CITY HALL — Massage businesses in Santa Monica will now be required to keep their doors unlocked during operating hours after the City Council on Tuesday voted to impose more stringent regulations on the parlors.
CITY HALL — When city officials in January began taking a hard look at the harsh economic realities facing local government, a decision was made to freeze 18 vacant positions they deemed would have the least impact on the general public.
CITY HALL — While times might be tough financially — as reflected in a city budget that’s 8 percent smaller than last year — a handful of neighborhood improvement projects that residents have demanded for years could survive the cut.
<i>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.
CITY HALL — A 112-year-old cemetery where more than 60,000 Santa Monica residents have been laid to rest could soon be open to outsiders. City officials plan to change an old ordinance that limits interment at Woodlawn Cemetery to only current residents or former Santa Monicans who lived in the city
CITY HALL — The shrinking surf camp universe in Santa Monica is getting even smaller. More than a year after City Hall instituted a new permitting system to regulate surfing instruction, dramatically decreasing the presence of camps on the beach, the number of licensed companies is slated to go down
CITY HALL — A significant number of employees are no longer participating in a rideshare program that provides free transit passes to those who choose not to drive to work, according to figures released by City Hall.
CITY HALL — Facing a tight deadline to get financing matters in order, city officials have released a prioritized list of major construction projects that could receive a chunk of redevelopment money.
CITY HALL — A proposal to extend an existing ordinance that permits certain large projects if developers promise public benefits is receiving resistance from neighborhood groups.
CITY HALL — In the two years since residents were interviewed about their perceptions of the city, little has changed. Homelessness and congestion remain among the top challenges facing Santa Monica, while the lack of affordable housing and parking are still troublesome to many, according to a City
