CITY HALL — They look more like grandmas than the aspiring owners of a medical marijuana dispensary. But despite their small frame, silver hair and soft-spoken matronly disposition, they aren't and they are. Long-time friends Judith Eton, 67 of Brentwood, Harriet Simon, 75 of Encino, and Judy Uhrman, 65 of Encino, came into Santa... Read more →

OLYMPIC HIGH SCHOOL — “We’ve got a criminal in here!” Colin Sweeney, a professional improv comedian, pulls 17-year-old Darshana Ruffman into the room. Her arms are held behind her back as she’s sat down in a chair in front of the white board. Ruffman has committed a crime, but she has no idea what it is. Over... Read more →

SAMOHI — Efforts to outfit villages in Africa and Cambodia with life-saving water treatment devices took a serious blow earlier this month when thousands of bottles and cans were stolen from student organizations Team Marine and Heal the Bay Surfrider Club. The recyclables, worth several hundred dollars, were to be used to purchase... Read more →

SM PIER — A few feet from the Santa Monica Pier’s iconic sports fishing sign, a group of environmentalists engaged in a symbolic game of tug-of-war, pitting small fishermen against corporate giants in what has become a bitterly divisive debate over how best to manage seafood supplies. The activists with Food & Water Watch, a... Read more →

CITY HALL — A controversial proposal to build a light rail maintenance yard near homes is raising new concerns about whether an environmental impact review will be performed to address recent plan changes to add a paint and body shop to the facility. The issue involves a “hybrid” plan to place the light rail maintenance... Read more →

MALIBU — The lights might not be off for good for those popular Friday night high school football games. Following the California Coastal Commission’s denial earlier this month of a request by the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District to permit temporary field lights at Malibu High School, city officials said they are now... Read more →

Crime Watch is a weekly series culled from reports provided by the Santa Monica Police Department. These are arrests only. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 11:19 p.m., Santa Monica police officers responded to the 400 block of Broadway regarding a report of an assault with a deadly... Read more →

CITY HALL — A controversial veterinary procedure to clip the claws of feline paws can no longer be performed in Santa Monica after the City Council voted on Tuesday to ban the practice that animal rights advocates have described as amputation. The ordinance, which will take effect 30 days after a second and final reading next month,... Read more →

The Santa Monica Police Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children want to remind parents to play it safe on Halloween night, offering tips on how to protect their young ghouls and goblins. • Be sure older children take friends and younger children are accompanied by a trusted adult when trick or treating.... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — L.A. Monica Moore’s family has a special way of cherishing the memory of her grandmother, Rose Caruso, who passed away in 2001 with Alzheimer’s disease. Every year, Moore rallies her family to participate in the Alzheimer’s Association’s Memory Walk to fight the disease. “I have two teams,”... Read more →