CITY HALL — The City Council, with a 5-1 vote, has given its blessing to a development agreement with bio-tech company Agensys that will allow the Santa Monica-based drug maker to build its new headquarters on a City Hall-owned lot near Bergamot Station. As part of the deal, the company plans to provide a “public benefits”... Read more →

CITY HALL — Calling all billionaires, Santa Monica wants to hear from you. Now that it’s official there will be no Eli Broad-financed art museum in Santa Monica’s Civic Center, officials are turning to the question of what to do with the scorned site instead. Although the land, located just north of the Civic Center... Read more →

OCEAN AVE — Concerned the Spanish-Colonial revival design of a proposed condominium project here would detract from the neighborhood’s historic character, preservationists said they are prepared to fight a Dallas-based developer’s plan, which won approval from the Planning Commission last week. The condominium complex,... Read more →

CIVIC CENTER — City Hall will receive more of the profits generated by the sale of condos built as part of the Village project here after elected officials earlier this week agreed to give the developer another two years to secure financing and begin construction. The modified development agreement with mega-developer Related... Read more →

The American Red Cross of Santa Monica and WISE & Healthy Aging have joined together to create emergeny kits for low income, home-bound seniors. The emergency kits were assembled by volunteers of the Santa Monica Red Cross and will be distributed throughout July by WISE & Healthy Aging care managers to their clients. The project was... Read more →

PICO BLVD — Santa Monica officially has a new holiday to celebrate. Today, June 9, has officially been named Peter Case Day in honor of the long-time resident and musician who has been a fixture at the famous McCabe’s Guitar Shop for over a decade. City Hall is expected to issue a proclamation to Case, honoring him for his... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — In recent months, employees, shoppers and tourists have had more than just each other to contend with as they duel it out for parking spaces in Downtown Santa Monica structures. With Santa Monica Place, the renovated mall at Broadway and Third Street, set to open Aug. 6, construction crews have been hustling to finish on... Read more →

MIDCITY — Hit hard by unanticipated facility repairs, the 18th Street Art Center is asking the public for emergency donations to help close its $10,000 budget gap by June 30. After fixing problems with electrical wiring, roof damange, and wood rot, the center has been left with a doubling of its $35,000 annual maintenance... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — A new, independent movie studio with $500 million to spend is about to call Santa Monica home. Monarch Pictures is currently in the process of assembling its executive team and selecting a studio head, a process which should take a couple months, said Marvin Silverman, the studio’s director of public relations. The... Read more →

CITY HALL — With lax enforcement and no annual reviews before the City Council, most developers who promised “community benefits” in exchange for permission to build bigger projects in Santa Monica have failed to live up to their commitments, according to a City Hall report. The report was the product of a year-long review... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — Santa Monica-based mall operator Macerich Co. today reported a loss of $6.4 million, or 8 cents per share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with net income of $14 million, or 18 cents per share, for the same period in 2009. Macerich, a real estate investment trust, reported quarterly net operating income up 1.8... Read more →

CITY HALL — The City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved an agreement to allow St. Monica Church to renovate and expand its property at California Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard by adding a community center, new classrooms and nearly 100 new parking spaces. The church is also planning to knock down one structure on its campus... Read more →

MONTANA AVE — It’s tax time again, but at least at shops on Montana Avenue, it’s also time for a break. Merchants on the popular street are preparing for “Tax Free Day” this Saturday, an annual promotion retailers hope will bring in shoppers and make cash registers hum. With a sales tax rate of 9.75 percent in... Read more →

The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Monica is celebrating national Boys & Girls Club Week by throwing a family festival featuring a chili cook-off on Saturday. This is the first ever chili cook-off hosted by the Boys & Girls Club. Although participants will have to wait until 4 p.m. for the cook-off to commence, the entire day is... Read more →

CITY HALL — A dispute that pits a business interest against a group of angry residents will be front and center at City Hall tonight as the City Council considers the fate of The Parlor, a restaurant and bar accused of being a nuisance that is fighting back against restrictions its owners say could run them out of business. At issue is... Read more →