SHINE has announced the storytellers selected for its special performance on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. The event is part of the “6th Annual Fireside at the Miles,” Santa Monica's cultural festival at the historic Miles Memorial Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd. The evening's theme will be “Light My Fire!” with storytellers sharing true... Read more →

What a difference a year and a pilot ordinance make. In 2013, when City Council discussed requiring the public park-using fitness trainers to shell out permit fees, dozens of people showed up to expressed their opinions and both sides wound up frustrated. On Tuesday, in discussing an update to the ordinance, only three members of the public... Read more →

You won't need the Expo line just yet — there's so much going on in Santa Monica (and nearby) this weekend! “The Memory of Water,” winner of the prestigious British Olivier Award for Best Comedy, was a hit on London's West End. Now it's onstage at the tricky-to-find Promenade Playhouse, 1404 Third Street Promenade. Shelagh... Read more →

In the summer after she graduated from college, my daughter Dena volunteered for a short stint with the Israel Defense Forces. She was posted to a naval base outside Haifa, but because she didn't speak Hebrew she was assigned to applying bright red paint to the curbs on the edge of the sidewalks of the base so that nobody would dare to park... Read more →

Some see the turning of the calendar year as an opportunity to conquer dietary and health goals. Some hope to explore local restaurants they've never tried before. As far as the Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau is concerned, though, those two aims are not mutually exclusive. For the third consecutive year, the tourism board has... Read more →

A close relationship despite divorce. Chris Lemmon performs "Jack Lemmon Returns" at The Broad Stage CULTURE WATCH – Back in the 1970s, I worked in the 16mm film rental division of Universal Pictures. Driving through Beverly Hills one day I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a familiar face in a Rolls Royce. Jack Lemmon was behind the... Read more →

CITYWIDE — A young girl is hawking lemonade, but when her neighbors approach the stand they instead notice the bag of Doritos behind her. It's not for sale — or is it? The quick-thinking child deftly morphs into an auctioneer as the adults vie for the chips, setting up the rest of a 30-second commercial that is currently competing... Read more →

PICO BLVD. — Even a decade later, Trae Smith remembers the seemingly ordinary events: a Los Angeles Clippers game, a barbecue, an athletic competition. As an elementary and middle school student who spent countless hours in a youth enrichment program, he saw the activities as ways to have fun — but he was learning and maturing,... Read more →

By Tony Capobianco Special to the Daily Press Dustin Conrad is the Santa Monica-based fitness instructor behind the exercise method of using elastic stretch bands for flexibility and free-flowing resistance training known as “Bands and Body Fitness.” Much of his clientele is made up of recovering drug addicts looking to rebuild their... Read more →

CITY HALL — As the Planning Commission grapple with wonkier decisions about land-use rules, Santa Monica is still poised to allow two medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. The newest iteration of the draft Zoning Code, which will dictate land use for years to come, includes the allowance of dispensaries, which are currently banned... Read more →

WILSHIRE BLVD — On Wilshire Boulevard, seven blocks from the beach, a giant boy is straining through his binoculars to see the ocean — an increasingly hard feat in Santa Monica. The boy was created by an artist who goes cryptically by the name Bumblebee Loves You (he would not give his real name for this article) and commissioned by... Read more →

CITY HALL —City Council honored two members of the Santa Monica community who’d died at the ages of 35 and 41. Kate Levy, 35, who died suddenly in a car crash in November, was remembered for her fight against homelessness as a senior administrative analyst in City Hall’s Human Services Division. “Kate was an enthusiastic employee.... Read more →

LIBRARY LOWDOWN — Now that the Pico Branch Library is open, many of you may be wondering what's going on with the new library. Well, it is like participating in a marathon most of the time you run and sometimes you run even harder. Getting ready for a marathon takes perseverance, training and encouragement from friends and family. As the... Read more →

PLAY TIME — “Whiplash” is a misleading name for this film.  It conjures up deadly car chases and crashes and someone paralyzed for the rest of his life.  But the actual film is a far cry from that kind of theme.  “Whiplash” is a popular jazz piece written by Hank Levy, a composer/saxophonist who wrote for Stan Kenton's orchestra... Read more →

CULTURE WATCH — The Tara Gallery in Santa Monica pursues a rare mission: to show works by contemporary Iranian artists, a tricky business thanks to the sanctions against Iran. Tara Gallery is sponsored by the non-profit American Foundation for Contemporary Iranian Art (AFCIA), dedicated to promoting and supporting contemporary Iranian... Read more →