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Never before has a Supreme Court justice appointment caused so much division and drama in the Senate Judiciary Committee. After hours upon hours of Senate hearings, President Trump's Supreme Court Nominee, District of Columbia Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh, 53, was all set to be confirmed at the senate vote this Thursday. And then a shocking allegation of sexual assault merged a few days ago by Christine Blasey Ford, 51, a California professor who claims that Kavanaugh...

"Gentles comes to Santa Monica with over 20 years of experience in strategic organizational transformation and employee empowerment, whatever that is, said the City in an effusive press release. Since 2016, she has been the Human Resources Director for the County of Santa Barbara. There, she delivered comprehensive HR services to 23 county departments. "In her new role as Santa Monica's Chief People Officer, Gentles will engage the City's diverse workforce and help shape an...

Reports have surfaced that Mac Miller has died. Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), best known by his stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper and singer. He was also a noted record producer under the pseudonym Larry Fisherman. In early 2010, Mac Miller signed a record deal with Pittsburgh-based indie record label Rostrum Records. He subsequently began recording his debut studio album Blue Slide Park, and released it on November 8, 2011. The a...

Actor Vince Vaughn has been charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence after he was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint in Manhattan Beach earlier this summer, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced. Vincent Anthony Vaughn is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and comedian. Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film Swingers. Vaughn Starred in...

9/5 Sheriffs identified the woman who was hit and killed by a power boat while kayaking in Marina del Rey on Labor Day, as Nicole Willett, the chief of staff of the City of Los Angeles' Department on Disability. Willett, 46, of Venice was fatally injured about 1:10 p.m. Monday near the south jetty, the coroner's office said. Willett had been chief of staff of the Department on Disability since December 2014, according to her LinkedIn page. The driver of the boat was not...

9/5: It was a grim reminder of how badly wrong things can go when they go badly wrong. A man attempting to kill himself by leaping from Parking Structure 4 near Arizona and 2nd St., somehow managed to decapitate himself on the way down. Santa Monica police have apparently found the headless body in one part of the parking structure, and the head someplace else. This is a developing story and presumably an SMPD press release will no doubt be forthcoming. The police have blocked...

Prop 10: Major Expansion of Rent Control on Nov. Ballot Proposition 10, otherwise known as the Affordable Housing Act, will be on the California ballot on November 6, 2018. A vote yes, by repealing the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995. Prop 10 would grant local governments throughout the state the ability to adopt rent control. Costa -Hawkins set limits on rent control policies throughout the state and Prop 10 will give cities new tools to protect affordable housing....

Despite Bird and Lime Scooter Company fears that they would be passed over in favor of Lyft and Uber, the City of Santa Monica announced the selection of Lime, Bird, Lyft and Jump as the four operators to participate in the City's Shared Mobility Pilot Program. There were supposed to be just 2 companies, but ultimately 4 were selected. 2 weeks ago, Bird called for its riders to flock to City hall, when it found out that it was now competing with Google backed Lime, with Uber...

A sign in the door informs customers that Fireside Cellars has had it's alcohol license suspended by the California State Depart of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). It is unknown why it was shut down--whether they violated the law by selling to minors, or simply didn't pay their fees on time. The ABC was created by constitutional amendment effective January 1, 1955, as an independent department of the executive branch of the state government. The Board of Equalization no...

Police Arrest Suspect in Pier Shooting Early Sunday morning of August 20, 2018, Santa Monica Police were called to a shooting on the Santa Monica Pier. A woman had been shot in the leg by a man accompanied by a woman, but she refused to identify the couple, who left after shooting her around 6 am. Police have not only identified but arrested the shooter. He is Ivan Galiano, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga. After the shooting, the victim was assisted by medical personnel at the scene...

2 Small Earthquakes Centered near La Verne were felt across a wide area of southern California Tuesday night. The first occurred at 7:34 pm PST, and measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale, according to the United States geological survey. The USGS said that the second occurred at 7:40 PM, and measured 4.4 on the Richter scale. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. A few Los Angeles county residents posted on Twitter under the #Earthquake. “Dogs are supposed to w...

There has been a shooting on the Santa Monica Pier, the first in 2018. Police have tapped off the entire Santa Monica Pier, and removed several thousand people from it on a summer day. The SMPD issued the following press release this afternoon: This morning at about 6:04 AM, SMPD Harbor Guards were contacted and informed that a female on the west-end of the Santa Monica Pier required medical attention. When officers made contact with the female they determined that she had...

Local Briefs Juan Castillo, 18, was found dead on February 26, 2018 at 5 am, in the 1300 block of 16th Street in Santa Monica. He appeared to be on the way to Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the head, but died outside the hospital. It was a crime that shocked the community. His parents noted that Castillo was a good student, a football player at SamoHi, and not a gang member. On August 21, 2018, following a jury trial, Sherwin Mendoza Espinosa, a 43...

Summer 2016 ends Thursday. SMMUSD School Year begins on August 23rd. It is often said that real estate is more valuable in Santa Monica because of our extra-ordinary schools. Well, this year they're even more extraordinarily liberal. The District expects the number of children to stay same as last year, wrote District Spokesperson Gail Pinsker. That would mean about 10,800 students. What's new this year, in terms of programming or personnel? "We have two new principals in...

Experienced Lyft and Uber drivers know it's a common but frustrating practice. A passenger is in a hurry. Nothing prevents him from using the Uber & Lyft Apps on his phone simultaneously, to summon one of each. But this time, it ended in gunfire. About 5 a.m., the driver picked up two passengers at Avenue 40 and Eagle Rock Blvd in the Glassell Park area of Los Angeles. This according to Los Angeles Police Sgt. Roberto Alaniz. As he pulled away, an Uber driver pulled up next to...

The statue of the Virgin Mary that stands at the corner of 7th Street and California Avenue was vandalized early Friday morning. Someone tagged the statute with yellow paint, possibly between 1 and 5 am, police said. This is in a week when the priest sex abuse allegations have caused church officials to apologize, but it is not clear if the vandals were so motivated. Church employees cleaned off the statue that same day, August 17 2018. The statue was been a target of vandals...

They charge $800 a night for their smallest rooms, but the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica apparently wasn't paying all their illegal alien labor, the $15 or so an hour the law guarantees them. The Santa Monica City Attorney's Office inand the Wage Enforcement Program of the County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) say they have settled two wage enforcement cases at the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica. One case was against Loews Hotel itself and the...

HOUSTON – (Aug. 20, 2018) – Damage caused by natural disasters and recovery efforts launched in their aftermaths have increased wealth inequality between races in the United States, according to new research from Rice University and the University of Pittsburgh. "Damages Done: The Longitudinal Impacts of Natural Hazards on Wealth Inequality in the United States" will appear in an upcoming edition of Social Problems. A supplement to the paper highlights the wealth gap bet...

The City Council appointed Shawn Landres to the Planning Commission at its meeting on August 14th. Landres is a Senior Fellow at the UCLA Luskin School of Public affairs. He previously served on on several boards and commissions, including the Innovation Technology Task Force, and the City's Social Services Commission. He is also the Chairman of the Los Angeles County Quality and Productivity Commission. The 7 member planning commission hears applications by developers, making...

8/14: Concerned about the effect on marine wild life, the Santa Monica City Council has tightened existing law banning plastic. The City will require restaurants and those selling food to go, to supply marine degradable materials. After January 1, 2019, this will include straws, lids, plates, bowls, trays, containers, utensils, stirrers, cups, and lid plugs. Plastic straws will no longer be available, even upon customers' request. All materials used to enclose take out food...

8/14: In a press release, the City of Santa Monica denies that it has frozen Bird and Lime companies out of the process. It says scooter decisions will be made after August 30th, and not tonight at the 8/14 City Council meeting. https://www.smobserved.com/story/2018/08/13/news/city-issues-update-on-the-shared-mobility-pilot-program-in-santa-monica/3591.html Those using the Bird Scooter app in Santa Monica Monday night got a pink not working signal from the company. Why? Becaus...

On Friday, August 10, the City of Santa Monica released recommendations for its Shared Mobility Pilot Program set to start on September 17, 2018. These recommendations are not final. The City's Planning and Community Development Director David Martin will make the final decision based on the applications, the selection committee's recommendations, public comment, and any additional information he requests on or after August 30. Public comment is open through Friday, August 17...

8/12: Yesterday, firefighters quickly contained a new fire, the Gulch Fire in Monterey County, to 650 acres, as well as reaching full containment on the Nelson Fire. Almost 13,200 firefighters are on the front lines of 11 large wildfires across California. To date, these fires have burned over 695,000 acres and damaged or destroyed over 2,000 structures. Over 12,000 residents remain under evacuation orders. A gradual cooling trend has started across much of the state, helping...

You were over the line, Smokey The bowling alley across Pico Blvd from the Santa Monica Civic Center will be bowled over by a wrecking ball next year, and replaced by a mixed-use apartment complex. This according to the agenda of this week's meeting of the Santa Monica Architectural Review Board. GRT Portfolio Properties owns the property at 216-234 Pico Boulevard. Like every other landlord in Santa Monica with a building built prior to 1998, they intend to tear it down and...

From bartender to rising political star, Alexandria Ocasio -Cortez, Bronx born congressional candidate, whirled through Los Angeles last week during her campaign fundraising tour. Running on a message of economic, social and racial dignity for the working class, Cortez, in a stunning victory, unseated 10th term incumbent, Joe Crowley, in New York’s 14th congressional district in the elections this past June. During her primaries campaign, she called to attention Crowley’s vote...