May 24, 2025
May 24, 2025
The Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Malibu opened to through traffic this morning, May 23, 2025, at 8 AM. It had been closed due to damage from the Palisades Fire and subsequent mudslides. This reopening is expected to help local businesses and improve access for residents and travelers along the coast. An 11-mile stretch between Santa Monica and Malibu, closed since the Palisades Fire on January 7, 2025, now has up to two lanes open in each direction with a 25 MPH speed...
Today at the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial, prosecutors released several images of the many escorts Diddy frequently hired for his freak offs. Two of them instantly caught my eye. I had seen them on Showtime's controversial reality TV show called 'Gigolos'. I feel sullied by admitting I watched the garbage. It's amazing what we watch when insomnia kicks in! The show was so bad and embarrassing for both the gigolos and their desperate clients, I couldn't look away, maybe my life...
On Thursday, May 22, 2025, Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem sent Harvard University a letter revoking their Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification. "Harvard is being held accountable for collaboration with the CCP, fostering violence, antisemitism, and pro-terrorist conduct from students on its campus." wrote Noem in a statement. She cited Harvard's inability or unwillingness to protect Jewish students during pro Palestine riots, in particular. The...
Pharmacies and pharmacists play a critical role in our healthcare system. They dispense prescription and over-the-counter medications, provide immunizations, and counsel patients on medication side effects, interactions, and regimens. These essential services ensure patient safety and help patients take their medications as prescribed, ultimately improving the overall health of our communities. In an ideal world, everyone would have convenient access to necessary health...
Update, Monday afternoon: An attempted robbery took place at a shoe store called Sole & Laces on Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade, as reported in the Los Angeles Times article published today, May 19, 2025. The incident occurred on Sunday night, May 18, 2025, around 9:30 p.m., according to the Santa Monica Police Department. The identity of the man who was fatally shot by the store owner has not been disclosed in the available sources. Additionally, while a second...
Though many out-of-work Americans currently face a slower search for employment, the nation's job market remains relatively robust, with 177,000 new workers added in April 2025. For comparison, an average of 166,000 new jobs were gained every month in 2024. Overall, the number of jobs in the U.S. is expected to grow by 4% across all occupations by 2033. But, according to projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many jobs that pay over $100,000 a year on average are...
In the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation story, the goddess Ho'ohōkūkalani gives birth to a stillborn son, who is buried in the fertile soil. In her grief, she waters the soil with her tears, and a sprout emerges, becoming the first kalo plant. This plant nourishes her second-born son, Hāloa, the first Native Hawaiian. For Native Hawaiians, kalo, also known as taro—a tropical plant prized for its starchy, nutritious, rootlike corm as well as its leaves—is not just a...
While measuring individual happiness is challenging due to its subjectivity, broader trends may be able to provide insight into whether a local community is more or less happy than its peers. For instance, research ties higher incomes and lower poverty rates to higher levels of happiness. Similarly, life expectancy and marriage rates can be revealing indicators about a community's propensity for happiness. With this in mind, SmartAsset ranked 90 of the largest U.S. cities...
Just when activity began to normalize on the nation's car dealer lots, tariff uncertainty threatens to increase auto prices for Americans in 2025. But for now, we're taking a look at 2024 data, which shows car loan balances increased moderately last year. The average auto loan balance held by consumers in the United States increased 2.1% to $24,297 as of the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, according to Experian data. This increase broadly impacted all U.S. regions and consumers...
More insurance coverage should mean more confidence for small business owners, right? Not exactly—at least, not yet. According to a NEXT nationwide survey of 500 small business owners, insurance adoption is up across the board but confidence hasn't caught up. Despite more business owners having small business insurance coverage, many still feel unprepared to face real-world risks, and a majority say they find insurance confusing. This year's survey, a follow-up to NEXT's...
1) The Santa Monica Coalition/Safe Cities is in favor of additional outdoor restaurant seating for service and consumption of food and all alcoholic beverages. But the City charges almost as much for the outdoor seating as property owners are receiving in rent for indoor brick and mortar space 2) The Mayor's and City Council's publicly stated goal and objective is to expand the program from 5 or 6 am to 2 am daily. 3) In just the last week there have been multiple arrests for...
Dear Council, I don't often share John Alle's videos. I find him directionally right, but I think he is tactically wrong-I've argued with him about his signs on the promenade which are often unnecessarily personal and seem counterproductive. His scope is too narrow, (we are more than our disorder), and occasionally he drifts into hyperbole. But I absolutely understand his frustration in the face of a seemingly indifferent bureaucracy that seems more intent on gaslighting our...
As is so often the case, the first several months of 2025 have had some serious highs and lows. There have been major box-office hits, like "Sinners," poised to be one of the highest-earning horror movies of the past decade, along with some colossal disappointments, like Disney's universally panned live-action "Snow White," expected to lose the studio $115 million. And the summer movie season is only just beginning. While the early months of the year are generally slower in...
The glitz and glam of Hollywood captures the attention of Americans starting from an early age. Beyond celebrities' Instagram Stories and red carpet poses, there are actors out there paying their dues and honing their craft in pursuit of a sustainable career or a fulfilling sideline. Submitting to casting calls is a big part of that journey. Whether you're a working actor or an aspiring one, you might be curious to know which movies and TV shows are casting roles near you....
President Donald Trump's new executive order on regulating elections is striking for the way it asserts broad powers for the executive branch that go far beyond what's prescribed in the Constitution or sanctioned by courts. Experts expect the order to face legal challenges for that reason. But what's also striking about the order is how it seeks to dictate some arcane details of the way voting systems work in some of America: Specifically, it bans the machine-readable...
Denise Jess walked into a Madison, Wisconsin, polling place on Saturday, April 29, to vote early in person, and encountered a familiar barrier: an absentee ballot envelope with a blank space for writing in her name, birthdate, and address. Jess, who is blind, chuckled along with her wife, who accompanied her to the polls. Who was going to do all that writing? A poll worker quickly offered help, reminding Jess that she had the right to assistance, Votebeat says. Jess, who is...
We all know that spending too much time on screens is unhealthy, but do different screens have different impacts on our mental health? The answer, according to a 2025 Hers study, is yes. In fact, one simple question, "Do you prefer streaming TV or scrolling social media?" reveals key differences in our self-perceptions, emotional stability, mental wellness, and more. So which one is better? Well, it's complicated. When it comes to screen time, binge watching Netflix and...
For decades, politicians and gun lobbying organizations have perpetuated the notion that mental health issues drive mass violence. A new study is challenging that narrative, though, showing that, rather than causing acts of violence, exposure to gun violence increased rates of depression among respondents and led to higher use of mental health services, The Trace reports. The study, led by researchers at the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center, surveyed 8,009 respondents...
A concussion is a brain injury that occurs when a violent blow or jolt hits the head and causes the brain to strike against the inside of the skull. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), concussions can damage brain cells and lead to dangerous chemical changes within the brain. But is there a difference between a concussion and a traumatic brain injury (TBI)? Learn how to distinguish between this terminology below. And remember, if you have been...
Santa Monica's City Council thinks the city is just fine. One councilmember called the homeless residents our neighbors, their wants and desires equivalent to those of people who pay rent and pay taxes. The 'freedom' of some, most of whom suffer from drug addiction and mental illness, to live in filth, disease and to commit crimes with impunity, is valued over the ability of the rest of society to live healthy lives in law and order. Watch the videos shot and distributed by...
