SMMUSD HDQTRS — They may only be in the 10th grade but graduation is clearly on many of their minds. The state Department of Education on Tuesday released results of the 2009 California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), showing students in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District continuing to post high marks in the subject areas... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — As the nearly week-long Station fire continues to burn its way through the Angeles National Forest, scorching more than 105,000 acres and threatening a half-dozen communities, a group of local firefighters and volunteers are joining the battle. The Santa Monica Fire Department on Saturday deployed a team of seven fire... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — There’s a trio of former Santa Monica businesses that are on a list of the state’s most wanted, accused not of committing heinous crimes but rather skirting hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax payments. The California Board of Equalization announced recently it added 19 new businesses to its list of the... Read more →

Dear EarthTalk What are the pros and cons of feeding babies formula versus breast milk? And if I purchase formula, should I spend the extra money on the organic variety? Suzy W. via e-mail It is generally acknowledged within the medical community that breast milk is the ideal first food for babies, though modern formula brands can get the... Read more →

As a new-to-town resident, I have found fewer things more refreshing than the weather. (I came from Fresno, in the Central Valley of California, with averages topping 100 degrees during the summer months.) That said, it is amazing to find that the issues surrounding environmental sustainability are woven into the framework of this place. A... Read more →

MAIN STREET — With the launch of a citywide campaign this year to urge consumers to buy from local businesses, one merchant association is hoping the neighborhood Santa Monica Farmers’ Market also follows the same philosophy. On the list of about a dozen non-agricultural vendors at the Main Street Farmers’ Market, selling... Read more →

THE LANDFILL — aIt’s not much of a stretch to liken America’s relationship with cell phones to a once sizzling romance that ends in good-bye. Fated love affairs typically begin with inflamed passion before reality sets in, cooling the embers enough to allow more guarded, sometimes less attractive aspects of the self to... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — Out of all the parts that make up the Third Street Promenade, from the artists to retail carts to the merchants that line the strip, there’s one that’s been absent for the past few years. That missing piece of the puzzle — food carts — is due to return this fall. There was a time when shoppers on the... Read more →

WILMONT — As hundreds of hikers head out to their favorite trails this weekend, they would be wise to stop and smell the roses, or whatever foliage is around, for the hike could be their last — in the state park that is. Faced with devastating budget cuts totaling $53.6 million, the California Department of Parks and Recreation... Read more →

BROAD STAGE — What does an Asian-American youth orchestra, a West African drum ensemble, and a punk-folk-country-protest musician all have in common? The answer is Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, best known for its fourth movement, “Ode to Joy.” Billy Bragg, the punk, folk, country and political singer-songwriter, is... Read more →