DOWNTOWN — Hoping to raise revenue for Downtown parking improvements, Santa Monica officials are asking the City Council to allow advertisements inside city-owned parking structures. The proposal, which the council is set to consider tonight, could raise between $150,000 and $400,000 per year that could be spent on additional signs... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — As vote tallying headed into the home stretch ahead of the Nov. 30 deadline to certify election results, Bob Holbrook maintained his slight lead in the race for the final Santa Monica City Council seat that remains in dispute. The latest update from Los Angeles County election officials on Monday showed only slight vote total... Read more →

CITY HALL — Aiming to make the twice-weekly Farmers’ Markets held in Downtown Santa Monica safer, the City Council is expected to approve $199,000 tonight for a new traffic plan during the events. The plan calls for new “vehicle arresting barriers” to be installed at market entrances and new temporary and permanent... Read more →

BROADWAY — Fred Deni, co-owner of the Santa Monica restaurants Back on the Beach and Back on Broadway, first got the idea of hosting a charitable Thanksgiving dinner back in 1979 after noticing a homeless man scavenging for food in his restaurant’s dumpster. Since then, each year he’s gone to work Thanksgiving day in order... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — Bob Holbrook extended his narrow advantage over challenger Ted Winterer in the lone undecided City Council race on Friday, gaining ground to lead by 61 votes. Earlier this week Holbrook’s lead had been 42 votes. The latest vote tally showed Holbrook with 12,696 votes, good for third-place in the race for three four-year... Read more →

SM BLVD — If you’ve got an electric vehicle — or you’re thinking about getting one — take note: There’s a new place in town to drop in for a free charge. Toyota of Santa Monica, located at Eighth Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, on Friday unveiled a pair of new “phase two” charging stations... 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. Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 5:30 p.m., The Santa Monica Police Department’s Narcotics Unit served a search warrant in the 1800 block of 16th Street. While... Read more →

CITY HALL — It’s a Santa Monica tradition now in its 26th year, and this holiday season it may be having a bigger impact than ever before. On Thursday morning, 80 local kids between the ages of 5 and 12 were treated to $100 shopping sprees at Sears’ Downtown Santa Monica location, courtesy of the Salvation Army Santa... Read more →

PICO BLVD — Back in 1985, the alternative/new wave group Tears For Fears was tearing up the airwaves with international Billboard hits from their album, “Songs From The Big Chair.” The group, which was co-founded in 1981 by singer/songwriter Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal, generated some of the most notable tunes from the era... Read more →

VIRGINIA AVENUE PARK — “Flat is the new up.” It may not be the catchiest slogan, or the most inspiring. But when applied to the city of Santa Monica’s budget outlook, City Manager Rod Gould will take it. As he told a group of residents who gathered at Virginia Avenue Park on Wednesday evening, simply avoiding layoffs... Read more →

CITY HALL — When a 14-member commission begins the process of redrawing California’s legislative district boundaries next year, Santa Monica City Clerk Maria Stewart could be among those calling the shots. Stewart is one of the 36 remaining candidates for a seat on the commission out of a field of nearly 30,000 who applied... Read more →

The theme of the 19th Annual Christmas Faire is “The Gift of Giving” and is inspired by a phrase from the Book of Luke, “Give, and it will be given to you … for the measure you give will be the measure you receive.” The annual faire is truly the gift that gives; all net proceeds from the event are donated to the... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — Having already raised objections to the campaign season tactics of the group Santa Monicans for Quality Government with City Hall, Diana Gordon, co-chair of the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City, has taken the battle against the group up a notch by filing a detailed complaint with the California Fair Political... Read more →

An unusually high number of rabid bats have been detected in Los Angeles County this year, prompting health officials Wednesday to remind residents to avoid contact with the animals. According to the Department of Public Health, 21 rabid bats have been found in the county, more than double the annual average of 10. “The reason for the... Read more →

PICO BLVD — Who would have thought that ticket sales reports could provide the inspiration for an art piece? Yet that is exactly what Santa Monica College student W. Don Flores used as the starting point for an installation in the second-floor lobby of the SMC Theatre Arts Building. Flores’ ink-on-paper piece — called... Read more →