December 13, 2025
December 13, 2025
SANTA MONICA – Caroline Torosis was officially sworn in as Santa Monica's mayor on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, in a ceremony at City Hall that blended pomp with pointed public scrutiny, as residents confronted her over a contentious county-backed plan to repurpose two luxury Ocean Avenue hotels into transitional housing for individuals with severe mental illness. Administered by California Secretary of State Alex Padilla in a departure from tradition, the oath-taking drew a...
Pacific Palisades, Calif. - On Wednesday, the Palisadian Post, the community's newspaper of record since 1928, announced it will publish its final edition later this month, bringing to a close nearly a century of chronicling life in the tight-knit coastal enclave between Santa Monica and Malibu. In a heartfelt front-page letter to readers titled "A Farewell, With Gratitude," publisher Alan Smolinisky and editor Bill Bruns revealed that the devastating effects of the...
The young man drove his two door BMW over 100 miles per hour on Santa Monica Blvd at 11:30 pm Thursday night, December 11, 2025. He struck a light pole after losing control of his vehicle, then proceeded to crash into a 1970's era brick building on the corner, essentially demolishing the building. We spoke to the building manager examining the building teh next morning. He said that a BMW travelling at high speed hit a lightpole, then demolished the building. He added that...
SANTA MONICA – Marking a revival for the historic Santa Monica Airport (SMO), semi-private carrier JSX announced the launch of daily nonstop flights to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas starting December 19, 2025, offering Westside travelers a hassle-free alternative to LAX's congestion with just 30 seats per flight on sleek ATR 42-600 turboprops. The service, operating seven days a week during SMO's standard hours (6 a.m. to 10 p.m.), arrives on the heels of a...
China-US freight shipping rates stabilize at lower levels as December bookings slow This week, global trade policy saw several notable developments suggesting a turning point in how major economies manage supply chains, resource dependencies, and trade imbalances. The EU’s push to reduce dependency on Chinese raw materials and China’s simultaneous move to streamline rare-earth exports reflect a recalibration of trade flows, away from old dependencies and toward...
How can I avoid capital gains tax without a 1031 exchange? Understanding capital gains taxes from a property sale and the legal strategies you can pursue to manage tax liabilities from selling an asset can help you preserve the wealth you’ve built in your property. Although you may have heard of using a 1031 exchange to defer capital gains tax from real estate sales, do you have other options for avoiding capital gains tax without a 1031 exchange? In this story, 453 Trust...
Schools that are good at teaching math are also good in reading — and vice versa Many people prefer restaurants that specialize and perfect a certain type of cuisine — they don’t want their barbecue restaurant to offer sushi, and see extensive menus as a worrisome sign of mediocrity. On the other hand, they may not want a hotel that excels in only one area — they want every hotel they stay at to have clean sheets and towels, hot water and a quiet environment. What...
Retail AI investors stay bullish on AI stocks, Motley Fool survey finds Stock market news has been dominated by artificial intelligence (AI), and retail AI investors appear to be holding steady on their AI stocks despite debate over whether an AI bubble is forming. The Motley Fool’s 2026 AI Investor Outlook Report found that less than 10% of AI investors plan to reduce their AI stock exposure over the next year, while about 60% of all Motley Fool survey respondents are...
From e-cards to virtual worlds: 30 years of digital Christmas For as long as we’ve had the internet, we’ve been using it to celebrate the holidays. If you’re an elder millennial or Gen Xer, you probably still remember the early rituals well: sending laughably pixelated e-cards, posting seasonal greetings on message boards, rushing home to change your AIM font to holiday colors after school. Perhaps you painstakingly decorated your GeoCities page with HTML snowfall and a...
10 answers that could save a life: Organ donation explained Teenagers aren’t supposed to struggle to breathe. But two years ago, Micah Clayborne, a then-active 13-year-old middle school tennis player, knew something was wrong. Still, he pushed through the symptoms — persistent sweating and shortness of breath — for six months before finally telling his parents. They rushed their son to the hospital. Within days, doctors diagnosed Micah with Danon disease — a genetic...
Which safety features actually lower your car insurance rate? For years, the promise has been clear: A safer car equals lower car insurance premiums. While this general rule holds true, the auto insurance landscape is rapidly changing. Not all safety features are created equal in the eyes of an underwriter. The rise of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) has introduced new layers of complexity and cost to vehicle repair, which can mitigate the potential savings. Cheap...
