Sorted by date Results 3073 - 3097 of 3366

Bait Bike Catches Thief Santa Monica police say on 8/16/14 at approximately 3pm officers working in the downtown area were electronically monitoring a "bait bicycle" parked in the 1500 block of Alley 1 when they were alerted that it had been removed from its location. They say using a tracking device the officers were alerted to the bicycles new location every 10 seconds and learned that the bicycle was traveling southbound in the 1700 block of Ocean Front Walk. Authorities...

That mountain lions have managed to survive at all in the Santa Monica Mountains of California-in the vicinity of the megacity of Los Angeles-is a testament to the resilience of wildlife, but researchers studying these large carnivorous cats now show in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on August 14 that the lions are also completely isolated, cut off from other populations by the freeway. According to the researchers' analyses, only one young mountain lion successfully...

Rod Gould, Santa Monica's city manager, said Friday that he planned to retire at the end of January. Gould made the announcement as the coastal city is embroiled in a debate over the scale and scope of development and as it prepares in November to fill three seats on the seven-member City Council. "I have relished my time with the city of Santa Monica and view it as the capstone to my 35-year career in public service," Gould said in a letter to the council. He has been SM...

Making clear that the effort to close Santa Monica Airport is inextricably bound to the potential to redevelop low-density airport land, a developer was awarded the right to redevelop Bergamot Station just days after making a huge contribution to the committee trying to keep Santa Monica voters from having a say on whether to close the airport. Jeff Worthe, president of the Worthe Real Estate Group, made a $10,000 contribution on September 5, 2014, to the committee supporting...

Surveillance images were released Thursday of a man sought by police in their investigation into five vehicles that were set ablaze at a BMW dealership in Santa Monica. Officers responded to the dealership, which is located in the 1100 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, late Wednesday night after receiving a report that several cars were on fire, according to police. Video from the scene showed flames rising several feet above the vehicles and then engulfing them as...
After a late night hearing, the pony ride and petting zoo at Santa Monica’s Main Street farmers market will not have it’s contract renewed. In a council meeting that lasted well into the early hours of Wednesday morning, four Santa Monica City Council members voted-in measures that will see a cessation of all animal activities at the Sunday event. Voting to exclude the little horses were Ted Winterer, Gleam Davis, Tony Vazquez, and Kevin McKeown. “This is a very important step in the right direction in terms of respo...

A local landlord is using abusive tactics to intimidate longtime tenants in order to force them out of their rent-controlled apartments, according to a lawsuit filed by the city of Santa Monica last week. Barbara Bills, who owns a rental property at 2637 Centinela, reportedly entered three of her tenants' apartments – all of whom have lived there more than 20 years – under the guise of inspecting smoke detectors or leaky facets, but instead used the opportunity to doc...

Johnny Hooper happily waited more than 31 hours to get an iced French vanilla coffee and some Munchkins. Hooper's marathon coffee break took place in Santa Monica, Calif., where Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. on September 2 opened the second of hundreds of restaurants it plans for California. Another Dunkin' opened in Modesto, Calif., the previous week. "I'm originally from Connecticut, so I'm a big Dunkin' Donuts fan," said Hooper, who was first in a long line of people foregoing...

A motorcyclist was killed Tuesday in an accident on the westbound Santa Monica (10) Freeway. The crash, which reportedly involved the motorcyclist and three other vehicles, took place just before 6 a.m. August 26 at the McClure Tunnel in Santa Monica, according to the California Highway Patrol. The man on the motorcycle was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The westbound lanes were closed at Lincoln Boulevard as officials investigated. They are...

On August 12, 2014, as part of the unique deployment of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) resources to the California-Oregon July Complex Wildfires, Santa Monica Firefighter Joe Cavin, led by Los Angeles City Captain Secci and a six member team, was dispatched to a water tender accident where it rolled 150' down the side of a mountain trapping the driver/operator. The team responded and successfully extricated, treated, and rescued the operator with a two line rope rescue system...
Shots Fired on 5th Street Santa Monica police say on 08/09/14 at about 6:05pm, their officers responded to the 1500 block of 5th St, regarding several 911 calls of shots being fired from an upper level apartment. They say when officers arrived, they found three spent shell casings on the ground in an adjacent alley. Lawmen report a brief moment later officers saw the suspect, Bennett Morehouse of Santa Monica, who fit the description of a man involved in an earlier disturbance call at the same building, walk out onto a...
‘No Taxes to Fund Development’ (NTFD), a citizen’s group formed to oppose a City Hall sponsored tax hike that will appear on this November’s ballot, filed a lawsuit Monday, Aug 11, 2014 against the City of Santa Monica in Superior Court. NTFD’s lawsuit seeks to prevent the publishing of the rebuttals to the ballot arguments opposing the tax hike measure in all places including the official Sample Voter Guide mailed by the City. The lawsuit contends the City Clerk of Santa Monica wrongly accepted the proponent’s rebuttals b...
Big Blue Bus Fall Service Changes Start August 24, 2014 Route 3 is being restructured into two routes and 15 other routes are changing. It’s that time again: students start classes, commuters head back to the office after summer vacations and Big Blue Bus (BBB) adjusts its schedules and routes for these annual changes in ridership demand. This year, the fall service change will begin Sunday, August 24. BBB is making many changes, including a major service modification on Route 3 and other smaller changes on 15 different r...
A homeless man was charged with kidnapping, carjacking and other offenses Wednesday in connection with a 45-minute crime spree that began in Pacific Palisades and ended in Malibu. Brian Thomas Cruz, 44, faces 19 counts, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. His arraignment was expected Thursday at the Airport Courthouse. Cruz allegedly broke in a woman’s apartment in Pacific Palisades on Monday morning and, armed with a box cutter, forced her to drive him en route to the San Fernando Valley, Los Ang...
The Santa Monica Democratic Club has endorsed Incumbent Kevin McKeown and Planning Commissioner Sue Himmelrich for Santa Monica City. The group’s endorsements will benefit candidates through its direct mail effort, telephone phone banking and door-knocking. They will also be able to use the club name in campaign literature. Eight of the 14 Council candidates were eligible for endorsement. The club also voted to endorse the following candidates: School Board: Laurie Lieberman, Ralph Mechur, Oscar de la Torre , and Richard T...
Uber Will Deliver Lunch in SM Have a hankering for Tender Greens but don’t want to brave the long lunch line? Through Sept. 5, residents and workers in Santa Monica can try Uber’s new Uber Fresh concept, which delivers local restaurant lunches to their curb. The company said it’s only offering curbside delivery – not going inside offices or residences. Uber is testing the service but said the trial period could be extended. On its website, the company said it’s looking to expand delivery options throughout Los Angeles....
Santa Monica has begun implementing an array of programs to prompt residents and businesses to conserve water voluntarily, as mandatory cuts will happen later this year. The details of the Stage 2 water emergency will be discussed at an Oct. 28 City Council meeting, according to theSanta Monica Daily Press. Tom Fleming, an account executive with Sustainable Works Business Greening program, told the newspaper that drought-awareness campaigns have been influential in spurring businesses to save water. “With the drought in t...
Moomat Ahiko Way Rehabilitation Project The City of Santa Monica will commence roadway rehabilitation on Moomat Ahiko Way between Ocean Ave. and Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). This work was necessitated by the deteriorating condition of the roadway pavement. Work will start at 7:00 AM on September 15th and will require full closure for approximately 21 days. The street is scheduled to reopen at 7:00 AM on Monday October 6th. During construction PCH can be accessed via the California Incline as well as State Route I-10. The...
A young gray whale that swam into Marina del Rey harbor was not seen Wednesday morning, leading some to believe it returned to the ocean. The calf, which was about 18 feet long, was first spotted off the coast of Topanga Canyon on Tuesday, said Peter Wallerstein, president of Marine Animal Rescue. It was traveling south along the coast, drawing onlookers in Santa Monica, Venice and Marina del Rey. By 6 p.m., the whale swam into Marina del Rey. Wallerstein said it’s not unusual for a calf to part from its parents and e...
MonkeyParking May be Banned from SM MonkeyParking made headlines in June, when the San Francisco City Attorney sent the tech start-up a letter asking the company to cease operations in the city or face possible litigation. The app, which allows users to auction off public parking spots to the highest bidder, was violating city and state law, the letter said. The app company – now based in San Francisco – decided to take MonkeyParking south to traffic-clogged Santa Monica. Santa Monica might slam the brakes on the venture bef...
A motorcyclist was killed today in a crash on the westbound Santa Monica (10) Freeway in Santa Monica, the California Highway Patrol reported. The crash occurred shortly before 6 a.m. at the McClure Tunnel, said CHP Officer Francisco Villalobos. The motorcyclist, described only as a male, died at a hospital, Villalobos said. Hs name was not immediately released. According to the preliminary investigation, the crash involved a motorcycle and three other vehicles, Villalobos said. The westbound freeway was closed in the area...

In a setback for opponents of Santa Monica Airport, a Los Angeles judge has dismissed a lawsuit that challenged a November ballot measure to protect the facility from closure. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Luis A. Lavin threw out the case filed in May by an anti-airport group that claimed Measure D was misleading, poorly vetted by city officials and violated the state Constitution and elections code. The initiative, which is backed by a coalition of airport supporter...

L.A. and O.C. are least affordable housing market in nation, Zillow finds Los Angeles and Orange counties are the least-affordable housing market in the country. And it's likely to only get worse. That's according to new figures due out Thursday from real estate website Zillow, which found that renters here need to pay more of their income to afford a place to live than anywhere else in the country. Adding to the affordability woes, Zillow is predicting that home prices here...
3 Arrested For Parking Booth Robbery Three men suspected in the armed robbery of a Santa Monica parking booth were arrested today after a freeway traffic stop, police said. One of the suspects was armed with handgun when the robbery took place around 6:15 p.m. at 1301 Fourth St., said Santa Monica police Sgt. Mario Toti. Officers caught up with the suspects’ vehicle on the eastbound side of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway near Centinela Avenue and arrested all three men, who are in their 20s, Toti said. The suspects were in t...
The train is coming! In less than two years, the Expo Line will arrive in Santa Monica. While the Expo Station will be ready on time, the adjacent Bergamot Arts Complex likely will not. This delay, however, should not give the City reason to rush into a project that lacks vision and contains many unresolved issues. The City’s initial description of the concept for potential developers stated: “The concept emphasizes retaining the concentration of art galleries and other art uses, providing space for a museum, creating revenue...