Santa Monica Observer - Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

A jury has ordered the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District to pay $45 million to the family of autistic twins who "were physically abused and restrained by an aide" at their elementary school...

A Redondo Beach man was sentenced this week to life without parole in federal prison after he admitted to producing thousands of sexually explicit images and videos of nearly three dozen children,...

A suspect was arrested this week in connection with a series of sexual assaults targeting female Santa Monica College students, school authorities announced. In a statement Monday afternoon, Santa...

In June, Scott Berkett, 25, pleaded guilty to a single count of using interstate facilities to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. However, prosecutors agreed...

An investigation targeting Electronic Benefit Transfer card fraud in Los Angeles County has led to the arrests of 16 suspects and the seizure of hundreds of illegally cloned EBT cards and more than...

A Superior Court judge has placed four local landlords and property management companies on a 12-month diversion program in connection with misdemeanor criminal charges of tenant harassment, public...

Councilmember Lana Negrete along with three Santa Monica commissioners and 8 other candidates have qualified for the City Council election ballot this November. All 12 candidates submitted their...

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has picked two long-time educators to serve as principals at Webster and Franklin elementary schools. Tedd Wakeman, the co-founder and co-director of The...

Officials from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School are urging students this week to take antigen tests prior to the start of the new school year to “ensure everyone is Covid-19 free upon their...

The Santa Monica City Council this week voted to place on the November ballot a measure capping at 3% the rent increase for rent controlled units City officials said this measure will support rent con...

 A street vendor has sued Santa Monica in federal court, alleging that the city is targeting Black and Latino people by illegally towing the vehicles of unlicensed drivers. Reyes Murcia alleges in...

Teachers, nurses and management personnel in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District have received a pay raise. Classified employees are also in line for a hike in salary. The local School...

The Santa Monica City Council this week voted to place multiple measures on the November 8 election ballot, including two competing transfer tax propositions and one dealing with cannabis business tax...

Santa Monica has won a $65,000 stipulated judgment against a local landlord who 'allegedly attempted a wrongful eviction" against a family in a rent-controlled apartment. Last April, the city's...

Buoyed by the success of a pandemic-era pilot program, the Santa Monica City Council this week approved a permanent program to allow local businesses to convert curbside parking spaces into sidewalk...

6.23.22: The Santa Monica City Council this week approved revisions to the city's 6th Cycle Housing Element Update which will be resubmitted to the California Department of Housing and Community...

6.23.22: The City of Santa Monica released statement after Heal The Bay named Santa Monica Pier #3 polluted beach in California. They blamed bird poop for the problem. The Statement reads: "The City...

Santa Monica residents will be limited to two-day per week outdoor watering schedules starting next month as part of the city's effort to conserve water amid a historic drought in California. At its...

6.10.22: The father of a Brentwood School student has sued the institution, alleging that the curriculum became "racially divisive" after the 2020 death of George Floyd and the climate turned hostile...

The Los Angeles City Council this week supported a proposal by five council members to amend the city's law against homeless encampments in certain areas of the city to extend to within 500 feet of...

U.S. Postal Service employee Dewayne Morris Sr. and his son and namesake were charged in federal court with multiple felony counts of bank fraud and conspiracy in connection with the theft of $5...

Sameday Health, a Venice-based COVID-19 testing company, allegedly falsified and forged test results, according to a complaint released by the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, which reached a...

A homeless man who was convicted of raping a Santa Monica woman in her Ocean Park apartment in 2018 was sentenced on Friday to 100 years to life in state prison. Dylan James Jensen, now 44, was found...

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and City of Santa Monica have filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization County Committee, challenging...

The city of Santa Monica has finalized a settlement with a 31-year-old man who was struck in the head by a gunshot fired by a former Santa Monica Police Department officer, officials announced this...