Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
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How Google organized opposition to a California privacy proposal In April, Rhode Island resident Navah Hopkins received a plea for her help to defeat legislation thousands of miles away in California. The ask came from Google, maker of the world’s most used web browser, Chrome. The tech giant sent a message to an email list that Hopkins and other small business owners were subscribed to. Google’s request: To sign a petition opposing Assembly Bill 566, which would require bro...
How to pass a rental credit check successfully With such a competitive rental market to contend with, it can be difficult for applicants with bad credit to find housing. Sometimes, a poor credit score is due to difficult circumstances outside of your control, so it can be frustrating when a landlord denies you a place for those reasons. However, landlords must run tenant background checks to keep themselves safe and make sure they protect their properties. If you’re w...
When tenants have a right to counsel in eviction cases, but there aren’t enough lawyers to help Icy snow crusted the sidewalks outside the Bronx housing courthouse on a Thursday in late January, a bitterly cold day in a string of bitterly cold days. Inside, spread out over three floors, dozens of people in puffy coats, some cradling babies or hunched over canes, waited to find out whether they would be kicked out of their homes or what it would take to stay housed. Every f...
The United States has a rich history spanning nearly 250 years. The national motto "In God We Trust" dates back to the Civil War—although Congress didn't make it official until 1956. Each state's nickname, however, has its own unique origin story. Have you wondered who came up with the tagline or why a particular phrase represents your region? State nicknames are unique monikers that provide a peek into the essence of each state, capturing the pride of the area's past while a...
There's no way around it, Americans are inundated every day with nuisance and scam calls: about 50 billion of them per year, according to call-blocking app YouMail (the Federal Communications Commission says 4 billion/month, which is right in the same ballpark). Even that's not the whole picture, because it only counts automated robocalls, and not the ones made by actual humans. Now, not all of those calls (and texts) are scams, Spokeo says. Some are legitimate, and some are...
Shoreside, the chic new ocean-adjacent restaurant and bar with sweeping views, now open at the reimagined Shore Hotel, has officially opened its doors-ushering in a fresh era of elevated seaside dining in Santa Monica. Inspired by the vibrant flavors of California and the effortless elegance of SoCal living, Shoreside is where refined cuisine meets relaxed coastal charm. Perched along Ocean Avenue with sweeping views of the beach, Shore Hotel blends eco-friendly vibes with eas...
Dear Council, The sad part about this letter is I've written some version of it every year for the last 8 years. It is a lesson in failure at every level. Or maybe a lesson in my own insanity expecting something might change. I'm going to tie several things together here, so excuse the length. First, last weekend: FRIDAY NIGHT: After dinner out my wife and I went to the CVS on Wilshire where we encountered a deranged shirtless man threatening CVS staff with a skateboard,...
Kambria Siyuja always felt like the smartest kid in Supai, Arizona. Raised by educators in this tribal village at the base of the Grand Canyon, she started kindergarten a little ahead of her peers. Her teachers at Havasupai Elementary School often asked Siyuja to tutor younger students and sometimes even let her run their classrooms. She graduated valedictorian of her class. But once she left the K-8 school at the top of her grade, Siyuja stopped feeling so smart. "I didn't...
Dear Council, You have inherited a city on the brink, with a lot of problems (we're broke!). And, of course, with a lot of potential, if we keep our priorities straight. But as you consider levying a staggering bond tax ($460 million) on residents, you are also inexplicably deciding to launch a task force to "explore both monetary and non-monetary reparations options." To be paid with what money? Not to mention each member of this 'task force' will be paid $2500 for their...
It is my understanding that Palisades High and LA Unified School District are considering and in discussions to temporarily lease the former vacant Sears Building in Downtown Santa Monica as a temporary location for PaliHi. I am a Palisades High grad. Several of my brothers and sisters attended as well, and participated in after-school sports and activities. As one who owns and finances property in the Downtown Santa Monica area, I may stand to benefit financially. But first...
If the Los Angeles River were a living being, she would be called a survivor. From her headwaters in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, her 51 miles wind through one of the most densely populated regions of the country and then flow straight down into the Pacific Ocean near Long Beach. The City of Angels owes its existence to her; over 1,000 years ago, the Tongva established the first settlement on her banks near where Los Angeles City Hall stands today. However, she...
Dear Santa Monica Mayor Brock, In light of the recent court hearing regarding the California Voting Rights Act case, I am writing to request that you immediately call a special City Council meeting for the public to express their views on the prospect of funding the case for another four years, and so that the Council upon hearing public input by the taxpayers and voters can decide whether to settle the case. It is the Council's fiduciary duty to Santa Monica taxpayers to...
Dear Mayor Brock and Members of the City Council, I am writing to you today as a concerned citizen of Santa Monica and a PhD scientist and MIT-trained chemical engineer. Last night's decision to establish a Bitcoin Office within our city deeply concerns me, and I feel compelled to share the significant risks and adverse impacts associated with this initiative. My primary concerns revolve around the financial instability of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, as well as the...
Dear Council, The city is broke! We are told the council must choose between paving our alleys or hiring more police, as crime, addiction, disorder, and mental illness has become our new brand. (Just in the last couple weeks, tourists have been stabbed, robbed, or had their windshield shattered as they entered the city-welcome!). This immigrant, whose dream was to graduate from a pushcart to a store in SM, in six months has been robbed twice on the 3rd street promenade. Watch...
May 2, 2024 - The Santa Monica Coalition says they have discovered evidence that Santa Monica officials, including the City Manager, were aware that money given to the Venice Family Clinic was specifically designated for distributing clean needles to drug addicts in the city's parks. The Santa Monica Coalition is a group of business owners and residents who seek to restore safety to the city. They have filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County and the Director of Public...
Open letter to the Santa Monica City Council and the City Manager Much has been made about the needle exchange program conducted by the Los Angeles Department of Public Health in our city streets and parks. So I cleared my Friday morning to spend two hours listening to their abysmal defense of the program, which is really a needle distribution program, because, as even the mad doctor Gary Tsai acknowledged, only 60% of needles gets returned. (How he arrived at that figure...
Courts, Rulings & Lawsuits Supreme Court allows politicians to block constituents from personal accounts The Supreme Court ruled in favor of local government officials in a First Amendment fight on Friday, finding that politicians can block members of the public from their social media pages without violating the First Amendment. In a unanimous opinion, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee, set guidelines for when public officials' accounts could be viewed as state act...
Dear Neighbors, TIME TO "MAKE GOOD TROUBLE! I am writing to ask you to show up and use your voices and simple presence to "make good trouble" tomorrow night, Monday, Feb. 4th, regarding the oversized Gelson's development at the Architectural Review Board meeting at City Hall at 7 pm. Alternatively you could WRITE A LETTER to the ARB to be received by 12 pm tomorrow, the 4th, pleading, yelling, singing out that residents’ concerns must be respected. What we want is good for f...
The Harvard Crimson newspaper reports today that President Claudine Gay has resigned. This following controversy over her apparent plagiarism of academic appers, and a disastrous testimony before Elise Stefanik at the house of representatives last month, in which Gay said whteher or not calling for the genocide of Jews violates Harvard's student conduct policy "depends on the context." "TWO DOWN," tweeted rep. Elise Stefanik, who’s questioning lead to the resignation. The p...
Thanks for sharing these videos, Santa Monica Coalition. This is my neighborhood. Council et al, Really watch these two videos and what these women are saying. Take whatever opinions you have about where the videos came from and simply absorb them. I did. Right behind my fury came a surprising and deep sadness. These women, with babies, just trying to live their lives at the local park. The addicts, allowed to disintegrate and die on the streets under the empty promises and...
December 19, 2023 - In an email, John Alle of the Santa Monica Coalition, supplied comments from Santa Monica residents regarding the proposed ten percent increase in the salary of City Manager David White, and they are not in favor. The Santa Monica Coalition is a group of residents, property owners, and businesses that advocate restoration of safety, cleanliness, and prosperity to the city. The proposal to be considered at tonight's city council meeting is to raise White's s...
The world knows you as rapper Tory Lanez. However, the California Department of Corrections will call you by your birth name. So let me begin by saying "hello" to you, Mr. Daystar Peterson. Let me also state that I don't believe you shot at Megan Thee Stallion that day. That ship has now sailed. You are now in state prison. Your world is upside down. Your head is spinning. Congratulations on getting out of [unreadable] isolation and into the mainstream general population of...
September 22, 2023 - John Alle, the Santa Monica activist, business owner, and founding member of the Santa Monica Coalition who was attacked by a drugged homeless individual on Tuesday, wrote us to clear up some misconceptions that have been circulating in other news outlets. Below is his statement: 1) The attack occurred DURING THE DAY between 2:30 and 3 pm. 2) I was not filming the suspect or anyone in particular. I was taking a break from work and decided to walk the...
Dear Mayor Davis, Councilmembers and City Attorney Sloan, The purpose of this open letter is to express grave concerns regarding the constitutionality of item 5-K agendized for the upcoming September 26, 2023 City Council meeting. The name of the item is "Adoption of a Resolution Amending and Restating the Civility at Public Meetings Policy set forth in Resolution No. 10642 (CCS)." The item seeks the addition of the City's Statement Against Hate to the existing civility...
My open letter to SM City Council and School Board on the quarter billion $+ plan to acquire the Civic Auditorium: Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education, Santa Monica City Council, Mayor Gleam Davis Dear Members of the SMMUSD Board of Education, City Council, and Mayor Gleam Davis, I am writing to you as a concerned citizen of Santa Monica and a parent of two school children in the SMMUSD. The proposed plan to purchase and repurpose the Santa Monica...
