WESTSIDE — Only in Los Angeles could a weekend freeway closure be compared to the end of the world. Authorities will close Interstate 405 to do road work in July, and they took the step Monday of issuing a dire warning a full month ahead of time because of the potential traffic nightmare it could cause on one of the nation’s... Read more →

Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier is honoring Special Olympics athletes, emergency response members and volunteers this Thursday by giving them free tickets for unlimited rides throughout the amusement park. In addition, the world-famous Ferris wheel will feature the colors of the Special Olympics daily at sunset throughout the games,... Read more →

MAIN STREET — TOMS Shoes, a Santa Monica-based company that provides footwear to underprivileged children in foreign countries, announced Tuesday that it will expand both its product line and charity to fight another global health problem — blindness. The company’s founder and Chief Shoe Giver Blake Mycoskie unveiled... Read more →

SMMUSD HDQTRS — All 10 nurses currently working in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District will keep their jobs for the 2011-12 school year, although the details of what kind of support staff they will have haven’t been worked out. The decision, approved by a 6-0 vote by the Board of Education on Thursday, created a... Read more →

CITYWIDE — In response to the rising backlash against a proposed initiative that would have made circumcision for minors a criminal act, the main proponent of the measure announced her intention to withdraw the measure Monday. Jena Troutman, administrator of www.wholebabyrevolution.com and certified lactation educator, said that it was... Read more →

SUNSET PARK — Nadine Watt will step into the role of president at Watt Companies, one of the largest owners, developers and managers of commercial real estate in the Western United States, it was announced Monday. Watt is currently vice president of the Santa Monica-based company. Her appointment, effective July 1, “reflects a... Read more →

Barricades were placed Friday on a 1/2-mile stretch of southbound Pacific Coast Highway, as a summer-long wastewater diversion project begins. The key beach road is constricted so crews can bury 3,100 feet of new pipe at the foot of Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica. One of the three southbound lanes will be closed for the next two months,... Read more →

Vintage Hollywood Foundation will hold its annual wine and food event Saturday, June 11 at a private home in the Pacific Palisades. Homeless services provider OPCC will be the primary beneficiary of the fundraiser. Vintage Hollywood is an intimate outdoor event attended by roughly 350 people and showcases an exclusive group of prominent... Read more →

CLOVERFIELD BLVD. — After 35 years in Santa Monica, Liberty Hill is packing up and moving out. The foundation, which has invested more than $40 million in grassroots community organizing in Los Angeles County, plans to move in July to a location on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, according to a press release issued by the... Read more →

Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that only a handful of outdated coal-burning power plants generate a sizable amount of the mercury pollution generated in the United States? If so, is anything being done to clean these sites up or shut them down? — Frank Pearson, Wichita, Kan. Our nation’s coal-fired power plants are increasingly... Read more →

MID-CITY — Paula Minardi could hardly believe her eyes. There, on the 1300 block of Santa Monica Boulevard between Stanford and Yale streets, was a coyote. “It had pointy ears and I told myself, ‘This is not just your average dog,’” Minardi said. It seemed impossible that the wild creature would venture so far... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — Amazing what a pair of imaginary friends can inspire. Onny and Oboe, the make-believe buddies of a little girl in failing health have, years later, become the inspiration for one man’s trek across the country to raise awareness for organ donation. Michael Tittinger, a one-time editor of the Daily Press who until last... Read more →

SMMUSD HDQTRS — For this year only, seniors and eighth graders will get the chance to attend graduation and other end-of-the-year events despite violating the district’s controlled substance policy. The determination came down at Thursday’s Board of Education meeting. The issue was thrust into the spotlight after three... Read more →

ST. MONICA — Few people have the same connection to St. Monica’s Catholic Church as Lydia Saenz. She was baptized there, received her first communion there and went through the rite of confirmation at the campus on the corner of Seventh Street and California Avenue. Saenz even met her husband of over four decades, Ronald, while... Read more →

SMMUSD HDQTRS — After nearly two years of work, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District officials and members of the Special Education District Advisory Committee completed their magnum opus — an analysis of the past decade of income and spending on special education, district wide. The topic had previously been shrouded in... Read more →