Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Sorted by date Results 401 - 425 of 585
PETA, the acronym for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, bills itself as an "animal rights" organization. Founded in 1980 by Ingrid Newkirk, a former animal shelter worker and deputy sheriff, PETA is now an international group of purportedly 6.5 million members that has appointed itself the voice of animals who can't speak for themselves. But with a voice like PETA speaking for you, you're better off mute. The fact is PETA kills animals. They have killed tens of thou...
In June, the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City (SMCLC) served the City with legal objections to proceeding with plans to privatize public land at 4th and Arizona for a massive commercial project until it had complied with a state law known as the Surplus Land Act. Under the Act, before negotiating and disposing of public land for commercial uses, the City must notify interested parties to see if the 25-acre parcel could be used as open space or for affordable housing....
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent Ben Drati sent an email to parents, students, and the public that is chilling in both its content and its wording regarding the district's new "anti-racism" enterprise. Could Drati possibly be unaware that the term "anti-racism" now goes far beyond the idea not to treat someone as inferior because they belong to a different race? Today, "anti-racism" is defined as rejecting your "whiteness" (if you are white). It...
TO THE EDITOR: Hello, as a resident of Santa Monica for over 40 years, I find it is my civic duty to contact you in support of the Santa Monica Police Dept. Also, my latest friendly interaction and concern with a police officer encouraging me to support him and fellow officers is the reason why I'm writing. I always keep my word and hope this helps and is not just dismissed and overlooked. If this can be circulated in your publication, that would be great. It's about time we...
In reading through the nine proposed laws sitting in our state legislature now, each of which would do its part to kill single-family housing and densify neighborhoods, the rationale for this concerted, ruthless effort to drastically change the very structure of our landscape and society is difficult to grasp. But we're game to try. The laws proposed are SB 902, SB 1120, SB 995, SB 1085, AB 725, AB 1279, AB 2345, AB 3040, and AB 3107. First of all, let's dispose of the idea th...
Predictably, renewed lockdown orders in California are leading to new riots, usually involving associated "peaceful" protestors. A melee broke out in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday night, with protestors and police engaging in a physical brawl. On Sunday, a crowd blocked Wilshire boulevard in Westwood. These protests were stated as solidarity with the unrest in Portland, where rioters have repeatedly attacked the federal courthouse. God forbid Los Angeles not do their part...
In a preview of good times to come should voters fail in November to revoke SB 10, California's No-Cash Bail law, a Huntington Park man stole over a dozen cars in twelve separate incidents - after being released from jail on his own recognizance each time. Emergency orders reducing bail to zero were instituted in Los Angeles County during the last week of March, while all non-essential businesses were ordered closed. A week later, the entire state followed suit. Concern was...
I am a Santa Monica resident who lives near the Brentwood Urgent Care center, which is on 26th Street just north of Wilshire (1156 26th). In recent weeks, Brentwood Urgent Care has started offering COVID-19 testing. Testing is important, but a large number of people waiting for their tests, some of whom are surely COVID positive, congregate outside the Center, blocking the sidewalk. Even if they lined up neatly, the sidewalk is less than 6 feet wide in that location, which...
In time for the Independence Day weekend, a time when citizens of this great nation celebrate the freedom of our constitutional republican form of government, local and state officials issued a renewed and strengthened set of restrictions based on a "spike" in coronavirus cases. Beaches in Los Angeles and other counties are closed for the Fourth of July weekend - a huge weekend for visiting the shore. Bars and indoor seating at restaurants, both recently reopened, have been...
A white woman suggests we 'interrupt' our perceptions on just about everything in order to combat systemic racism; a black man suggests the opposite the black community accept its true free agency in order for the individuals who comprise it to determine their own fates. Both are accomplished and respected professors. You decide who makes more sense. A well-groomed, intellectual-appearing racial relations facilitator in her early forties, Robin DiAngelo is currently enjoying...
Aside from budget problems and services cuts, one of the most important issues bothering Santa Monica citizens is the unfolding of events on Sunday, May 31, the intelligence the day before and statements by senior staff and Council members after. This past Tuesday, Sue Himmelrich introduced Item 13C, intended to bring about an independent investigation of the May 31 related matters. She stated that her rushed language was unfortunate and all the Councilmembers present (Ted...
That black lives matter is not a controversial opinion. In 2020 United States of America, well over 99 percent of the population agrees with this idea. Yet since March 25 and the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer, this slogan has been chanted, chalked on the sidewalk, spray-painted on buildings, and parroted by cowed corporations and obedient politicians as if nobody already agrees with it. There is no controversy here. Only a handfu...
This commentary/critique/observation should not be construed, rendered, or inferred to minimize, trivialize, diminish or make light of the seriousness, gravity, and solemnity of the Coronavirus/Novel Coronavirus/Covid-19. Please Stop, Refrain, and Put an End to Using, Adopting, or Availing Yourself of the word "UNPRECEDENTED." My favorite book of all time is The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Mr. Goldman died in November 2018, and for those of you who didn't know him, he...
Close to 60,000 signatures have been gathered as of this writing asking for the recall of Santa Monica Police Chief Cynthia Renaud. Most residents of the city are furious about the wide-scale looting that occurred during and after the "mostly peaceful" protest that paraded from Montana Avenue and down Ocean Avenue early in the afternoon. The City of Santa Monica has received 350 damage reports with 150 retail businesses claiming significant damage from the unrest on Sunday,...
Parents of school-aged children may be surprised to learn that their local school district is considering adopting a policy allowing medical marijuana on campus. Effective January 1, 2020, Senate Bill 223 (a.k.a. Jojo's Act), allows California school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education, to adopt a policy allowing a parent or guardian to dispense prescribed forms of cannabis to their student on school grounds. The law does not permit students to possess...
Earlier this year back in a time when we were able to touch each other, then-City Attorney (now city manager) Lane Dilg put a halt to The Plaza at Santa Monica, a mixed-use development proposed for a City-owned property at the corner of Arizona Avenue and Fourth Street that will positively transform the Downtown. Dilg said in February that the project, favored by people wanting to see a city progress for the better and opposed by those who reject change, possibly violated a...
By: Marcel Gemme The COVID-19 pandemic has been harsher on America's senior population than any other demographic. This is especially true of the significant subset of seniors who live in long-term care facilities like nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Healthcare establishments have been struck hard, with news stories coming in at an alarming rate from all over the nation. The numbers are sickening, with some individual facilities reporting up to 70 deaths and over...
I'd rather die on my feet, then live on my knees. I've become very disheartened. The Leftist media has successfully convinced a significant number of people that it is necessary for us to be isolated for an indefinite period of time and now that the Left has gotten us locked down, they don't want to let us out. This is a perfect opportunity for them to finish Agenda 21's goals. The globalists dreams are coming true. First it was two weeks, which we all thought was reasonable...
On March 16, the City of Santa Monica, the County of Los Angeles and the State of California almost simultaneously began shutting down businesses, beginning with bars and gyms. Within days, both local and state authorities had shut down all but "essential" businesses. The length this lockdown was supposed to last was extended several times until the current deadline of May 15. Ostensibly, the reason for shutting down nearly all economic activity was to allow hospitals to ramp...
Dear City Manager and City Council, While reading Pro Developer Group Santa Monica Forward's letter about our city's finances, we're reminded of Naomi Klein's seminal work, The Shock Doctrine. In it, Ms. Klein posits that crises are often used as tools by those with power to push through agendas they had long sought but were unable to achieve through democratic means. A crisis provides the disruption and turmoil powerful interests need to accomplish long sought but unpopular...
"I discovered to my joy, that it is life, not death, that has no limits." Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera One of the casualties of Covid-19 has been our system of justice. The First Amendment to the Constitution, granting freedom of assembly, freedom to practice one's chosen religion, and even freedom of speech is being trampled upon in the face of the corona crisis. The fact that this illness may possibly be no more dangerous than the seasonal flu pandemic...
The worldwide attempt to control the recent worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 is an overreaction and a "fiasco in the making.” Scientist John Ioannidis. In most of the disaster movies we grew up with (think Jaws, for example), the town's politicians ignore the warnings from a scientist that the end is nigh. Making the disaster much worse. It may be politically incorrect. But before we return to the stone age, we need to consider the possibility that the emperor has no clothes. S...
The city's Chief Resilience Officer and its Communication Officer reported on the state of the city's response to the COVID-19 outbreak at the Santa Monica City Council meeting on Tuesday. Other than presenting the same outlines you have already seen of the disease's presentation, contagiousness, and personal measures to help prevent infection, neither public official had much to add. Certainly, there was no plan presented to prevent the spread of the disease to the city and...
An email sent out Tuesday by Dr. Ben Drati, School Superintendent for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, seeks to explain the response of the district to the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus outbreak and possibly to allay the fears of the community. UPDATE: SMMUSD sent an email out at 9:10 pm Wednesday night announcing the cancellation of the Stairway of the Stars rehearsals and concerts. They are also cancelling field trips, assemblies, performances, fundraising...
The House of Representatives passed Speaker Nancy Pelosi's unprecedented crackdown on the pharmaceutical industry. Her bill, "H.R.3," would allow the government to dictate prices on a broad array of drugs, with the promise of bringing domestic prices closer to those in foreign countries with government-run healthcare systems. H.R.3 is savvy politics. Nearly eight in ten Americans say prescription drugs cost too much. But government price setting is not the solution. Such...