Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

Articles written by observer staff


Sorted by date  Results 215 - 239 of 916

Page Up

  • Santa Monica Residents Charles McIlvain, 44, and Marybeth Guiney, 51, Among Diving Boat Fire Deaths.

    Observer Staff|Updated Sep 5, 2019

    The Torrance Daily Breeze website reports that two Santa Monica residents are among the dead in the Labor Day fire on the diving boat off Santa Cruz Island. Colleagues and friends told the Torrance newspaper that Marybeth Guiney and Charles McIlvain, both of whom were diving enthusiasts and lived in the same Santa Monica condominium building. Guiney, a sales director and ocean enthusiast, left a Facebook page imploring people to protect dolphins and other sea life. Friends...

  • Video: Hurricane Dorian Sitting North of the Bahamas, May Miss Florida Entirely

    Observer Staff|Updated Sep 5, 2019

    "In many ways #Dorian is an even worse hurricane today than yesterday. Forward motion 24 hours ago was 7 mph, now essentially zero. A stationary major hurricane over low-lying populations is the worst. Also it's a bit larger now and high waves extend much farther from center." Tweeted Dr. Rick Knabb, a hurricane expert at The Weather Channel on September 2nd at 2 pm EST. Meanwhile, 2 deaths of children have been reported from the Bahamas, a 6 year old boy and his 4 year old...

  • Spanish Singer Joana Sainz Garcia Killed on Stage by Fireworks

    Observer Staff|Updated Sep 3, 2019

    A Spanish pop performer was killed on stage on Sept. 2, 2019. Joana Sainz Garcia was dancing at one end of the stage, when fireworks went off as usual, but somehow struck her in the stomach. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 2 am, about 2 hours after the concert ending experience. About a thousand people witnessed the event. "Nobody can explain it," said group promoter Isidoro López. "We have been doing the same [act] for five years." López said the fireworks g...

  • Coast Festival to Close 2 Miles of Santa Monica Streets on September 15th 2019

    Observer Staff

    The City Sponsored Coast event will be held on two miles of city streets closed to car traffic, including Ocean Avenue from Wilshire Boulevard to Colorado. City press release follows. Santa Monica's free open streets celebration, COAST, returns on Sunday, September 15 featuring people-powered transportation, art, and imagination. Two miles of Santa Monica's streets will be closed to cars and filled with a pageant of crowd-sourced creativity in addition to live music, food,...

  • 4th Suicide in a Year from Parking Garages in Downtown Santa Monica

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 28, 2019

    We're not really sure what it is about Santa Monica parking garages, but like the Golden Gate Bridge, they have become magnets for suicidal people recently. Maybe it's the fact that you can see the Pacific Ocean from the top floor, and watch the sunrise. And in a handful of cases, become overwhelmed by suicidal ideation. Police were called to investigate a dead body found behind Parking Structure 2 on Saturday morning. A woman discovered the body of a man and called police....

  • Score One for Santa Monica, As 9th Circuit Upholds City's Anti-AirBNB Ordinance

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 27, 2019

    The digital economy has had the effect of concentrating more and more wealth in fewer and fewer hands. As far as housing goes, the AIRBNB app allows well heeled millennials to rent apartments in Santa Monica, Venice and other beach areas, for less than a hotel room (say $200 a night). Enter the City of Santa Monica, which trying to protect its stock of housing, forbid AirBnb and other room sharing apps, from renting out rooms that would ordinarily go for monthly housing...

  • Ocean Avenue Remains Closed to Traffic For Two Weeks North of California Incline

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 24, 2019

    One of America's most famous and beautiful streets, Ocean Avenue remains closed to traffic this week as workmen excavated a water main on an emergency basis to repair an underground water pipe. According to a warning from the City of Santa Monica, Ocean Avenue will be closed to traffic in both directions until Friday 8/16. Northbound lanes will be closed from Monday 8/19 to 9/13/19, said the auto notification,. At noon Saturday August 10, the City of Santa Monica announced...

  • End of Summer Comes Early, as SMMUSD Returns to School on Thursday August 22nd

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 24, 2019

    All 16 public schools in the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District begin classes on Thursday, August 22nd. Parents and kids will need to figure out where they are going to be dropped off. The SMPD says this will cause increased traffic, and urged local drivers to leave early and be patient. LAUSD ended summer and began its school year on Tuesday August 20th. SMMUSD has about 12,000 students. It has ten elementary schools, two middle schools, three high schools, an adult...

  • SMPD Vice Squad Send Underage Looking Officers to Buy Liquor from Local Stores

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 24, 2019

    As if it weren't difficult enough running a retail establishment in Santa Monica, the Santa Monica Vice Squad send underage people younger than 20, in to local businesses to see if they could buy booze. The press release from Santa Monica PIO Lt. Candice Cobarrubias, follows: On August 8, 2019, officers from the Santa Monica Police Department's Vice Unit conducted a minor decoy operation with assistance from members of the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control targeting...

  • Satirical Video Focuses on LA's Skid Row While Imploring Tourists to Visit Los Angeles

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 23, 2019

    A video newly posted on Youtube rolls video or homeless people living in tents on LA's infamous Skid Row, as a voice implores people to visit Los Angeles and engage in all the activities LA has to offer. Republicans from President Donald J. Trump on down have pilloried Democratic run big cities like Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles and San Francisco, for the large numbers of homeless people living on its streets and sidewalks. The conservative view is that these people are...

  • Robbers Bearing Sledge Hammers Rob Jewelry store in the 1200 block of Montana Avenue

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 21, 2019

    The owner of a jewelry in Santa Monica was hit with a sledgehammer while watching a robbery at his store Thursday, officials said. The robbery occurred about 2:35 PM at the store along the 1200 block of Montana Ave. One of the suspects went into the store with his face in a mask, and smashed a jewelry display case with a sledgehammer The owner intervened I was able to push the suspect out of the store, police said. The second suspect, also caring a sledgehammer, approach the...

  • Jury Finds Serial Killer Guilty of 2 Murders over Last 18 Years, Including One in SM

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 21, 2019

    A 43-year-old man was found guilty today of the brutal slayings of two women and trying to kill another woman over a seven-year period, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced. Jurors deliberated for more than three days before finding Michael Gargiulo guilty of two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and lying in wait, making him eligible for the death penalty. He also was convicted of one count of...

  • SMPD Detains Brinks Security Guard After He Fires 2 Shots at Fleeing Suspect on Third Street Promenade

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 19, 2019

    Santa Monica Police were seen in a CBS News Video frisking and taking into custody a bald, middle aged Brinks security Guard. His gun was visible in his belt, underneath his shirt. He had fired two shots at a fleeing suspect near the crowded Third Street Promenade, causing bystanders to panic and flee what some though was a mass shooting incident. Police also took the robbery suspect into custody at about 12:30 pm on Friday, after he apparently escaped with a money bag after...

  • Girls Who Code Holds Graduation at Santa Monica Riot HQ

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 17, 2019

    At the August 2, 2019 graduation the girls presented their final projects, heard from Riot Games' Head of Technology Mike Seavers and commemorated their achievements from the past few weeks. For the last 10 years Riot has tried to expand opportunities in the game industry. This summer that involved working with Girls Who Code to provide 20 local high school students with coding lessons, activities like robotics design and creating their own esports broadcast, and overall...

  • The Experiment Stage on the Third Street Promenade Features Live Performances 8/11

    Observer Staff

    Celebrate the last days of Summer with free salsa classes, outdoor comedy shows, live music or some quality time lounging in new outdoor seating options on Third Street Promenade in Downtown Santa Monica. Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. (DTSM) in partnership with local organizations, bands, and instructors, will host two months of free community programming and activations on The Experiment Stage at Third Street Promenade beginning August 11 through September 30 of this year. All...

  • Wanted: That Old Clarinet, Violin, Guitar, Flute or other Instrument in your Closet

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 11, 2019

    Scott Price and Janice Hou are hosting their second musical instrument drive from August 5th through August 16th. Scott and Janice say they have always been passionate about music and by its unique ability to bring people of all languages and cultures together. Scott, who has been a drummer since the age of five, believes that by collecting instruments for students at Lincoln Middle School, he can inspire local kids to use music as a form of expression and creativity just as h...

  • Man Who Barricaded Himself in Santa Monica Apartment in 2015 Sentenced for Murder

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 8, 2019

    A 28-year-old man was sentenced today to 16 years to life in state prison for killing a man outside of a South Los Angeles hamburger restaurant in 2015, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced. Deputy District Attorney Mike Bauer said David Carrillo, 33, of Los Angeles was found guilty on May 21, of one count of second-degree murder with an allegation that he used a knife to commit the murder. During an argument and fight on Feb. 10, 2015, Carrillo fatally...

  • Kids Reportedly Rob, Assault Other Kids on Expo Train in Culver City

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 8, 2019

    An unverified post on Facebook reports that a gang of kids jumped another group of kids to steal from them, on the Exposition Train between Santa Monica and Culver City. The crime reportedly took place at around 8 pm Friday night, August 2, 2019. One of the victims was reportedly injured. The post, with the names changed, follows: Last night, my boys, their friends, Jason Sara and Eva, took the metro from the beach in Santa Monica to Culver City. A group of about 15 girls and...

  • Possession of Child Porn Leads to Charges Against Cedars Sinai Director of AI

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 4, 2019

    A 59-year-old Santa Monica man has been charged with distributing and possessing child pornography, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced today. Guido Germano, 59 was charged with one felony count each of distribution of obscene matter and possession of child or youth pornography. Germano, who is the director of artificial intelligence medicine at Cedars-Sinai hospital, is accused of distributing child pornography videos using peer-to-peer software and...

  • Charges filed Against Rape Robbery Suspect on 17th Street and 18th Street Assaults

    Observer Staff|Updated Aug 1, 2019

    Authorities announced that they have filed charges on Fernando Venancio Jr., a 43-year-old male from Lynwood CA., for his involvement in a series of robberies and sexual assaults that occurred in Santa Monica. Police arrested Venancio for two assaults on 18th and 19th Street, neighborhoods not typically frequented by violent crimes. The press release from SMPD reads: "On July 22, 2019 at about 4:16 p.m., officers from the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) responded to a ra...

  • 3 Young People Killed at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, as Shooter Wounds Twelve

    Observer Staff|Updated Jul 30, 2019

    Three people were killed in a shooting in Gilroy's Christmas Hill Park late Sunday afternoon, 7/28. Police say the dead include a 6 year old boy, a 13 year old girl, and a young man in his 20's. The 19 year old shooter, Santino William Legan, was also killed. 12 people were wounded, a local hospital spokeswoman said. Remarkably, the shooting at the annual food festival lasted only about a minute before police responded. Legan was shot and killed about 90 seconds after the...

  • Memorial Service for Angel's Tyler Skaggs at Saint Monica's Catholic Church

    Observer Staff|Updated Jul 26, 2019

    Three weeks after his death, Angel's pitcher Tyler Skaggs was memorialized at Saint Monica's Catholic Church. The memorial service began Monday 7/22 at 11 AM. Admission was by invitation, and the memorial service wasn't publicized in advance. The private memorial will be aired tonight at 7 PM on Fox Sports Network. Busses brought in the Angels, who are not playing a scheduled game today. "There will be no body. Tyler was cremated, and his ashes have already been scattered,"...

  • Lightning strike on Marina Del Ray Beach causes closure of west side beaches

    Observer Staff|Updated Jul 23, 2019

    A lightning strike on a beach in Marina Del Rey closed local beaches for about an hour Tuesday morning. This according to alerts from the City of Santa Monica. SM Alert Lightning Advisory - An electrical storm with lightning has been reported in Santa Monica. Please evacuate all ocean and beach/sand areas. If on the beach or on the Santa Monica Pier, seek shelter indoors until the storm has ended.” 10:53 update “LA County Lifeguards have reopened all beaches. Please res...

  • As State Legislature Considers Ban on Rat Poison, LA City Council Struggles with Rats, Typhus.

    Observer Staff|Updated Jul 22, 2019

    While California's biggest city deploys rat poison, the California State Legislature simultaneously considers a ban on rat poison. As former US Vice President Dan Quayle said, irony is pretty ironic sometimes. The recent release of a study saying that the Los Angeles county rat population has doubled in a year, has touched off a controversy. Some blame the homeless, others blame restrictions on rat poison said to kill mountain lions and other wildlife. Carl Demaio of Reform...

  • SMPD Shoots Musician After he Rushes them in Alley Off Lincoln Blvd Sunday Morning

    Observer Staff|Updated Jul 20, 2019

    Early Sunday morning, Santa Monica Police were attacked by Wolfgang Mountford, 29, in an alley off Lincoln Blvd, near Grant Avenue. Police say the man rushed them, an officer pulled his sidearm and fired one shot which struck the man. Fire department paramedics treated the man, who was taken to a hospital. Later he was treated and released. Police say they had encountered the same suspect earlier in the day. The press release from the SMPD is below. Santa Monica, CA: On July 1...

Page Down