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. Saturday, Dec. 26, at 1:50 a.m., Santa Monica police officers responded to Saint John’s Health Center regarding a domestic violence call. When... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — Santa Monica police said Thursday they do not believe the boyfriend of a missing 19-year-old British woman had anything to do with her disappearance during their vacation. Police arrested Paul Alfred Atkinson, 45, on a weapons charge Wednesday after he previously reported his girlfriend Leona Dawn Perryman, of Dorset,... Read more →

PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY — The search has been called off. A 19-year-old British woman who was last seen nearly two weeks ago in Santa Monica was found Thursday walking along the Venice boardwalk with a transient, police said. Acting on an anonymous tip, Santa Monica police went to the area of 30th Avenue and Ocean Front Walk and located... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — There’s no denying that 2009 has been a trying year for many. A struggling economy that resulted in numerous job losses, housing foreclosures and cuts to social services have created an unsettling sense of uncertainty heading into a new decade. Locally, it has been a year filled with highs and lows, from the passing of... Read more →

SMMUSD HDQTRS — Facing a projected $12 million deficit, school district officials have raised the possibility of furloughs as they try to hammer out new contract agreements with teachers and other employees. “It is in discussion,” said Ralph Mechur, a Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board member.... Read more →

The Santa Monica Police Department wants New Year’s Eve revelers to play it safe and keep those guns holstered and drunk drivers off the road. Each year throughout the country as part of the New Year’s Eve celebration, some people chose to fire off a few rounds, not realizing the potentially deadly consequences of their actions,... Read more →

To promote a safe holiday season, Metro is offering free rides on all buses and rail lines operating on New Year’s Eve. The free fare program will be in effect between the hours of 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. the night and early morning hours of Thursday, Dec. 31, and Friday, Jan. 1. Patrons boarding a Metro Bus, including the Metro Orange Line,... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — Police on Thursday were still searching for a 19-year-old English woman and were questioning her traveling companion, who was taken into custody for a weapons violation after being spotted in Venice. Leona Dawn Perryman was last seen just before midnight Dec. 18 in Santa Monica, said Santa Monica police Sgt. Jay Trisler.... Read more →

SUNSET PARK — Residents of a quiet block here were shocked Monday morning to discover 11 vehicles and several fences and signs covered with graffiti that police said was likely the work of a Venice gang. The vandals apparently targeted the 1700 block of Pier Avenue, leaving police and residents of the normally peaceful neighborhood... Read more →

PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY — Witnesses to a crime who are too scared to come forward can now do so without fear by making an anonymous tip. The Santa Monica Police Department has joined with 24 other local law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County to participate in Crime Stoppers, a program in which witnesses can provide information... Read more →

Dear EarthTalk I am very concerned about the amount of chlorine in my tap water. I called my water company and they said it is safe just let the tap run for awhile to rid the smell of the chlorine. But that just gets rid of the smell, perhaps, not the chlorine? Anita Frigo Milford, CT Thousands of American municipalities add chlorine to... Read more →

CITYWIDE — For years, marijuana dispensaries in the city of Los Angeles spread like wildfire; without a workable city ordinance in place regulation became impossible and enforcement was nonexistent. Meanwhile, in Santa Monica the consequences of a different, decidedly less flashy law enforcement vacuum have been playing out. Since... Read more →

NEW YORK — The Convergence Partnership — a collaboration of six of the nation’s leading funders, plus the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — awarded Santa Monica-based The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation $80,000 for their work building healthier, more equitable communities. The awards honor new... Read more →

FOURTH STREET — Frugal shoppers looking for designer threads without breaking the bank will have another store to hit and Fourth Street will get a serious retail anchor to replace bankrupt Circuit City. T.J. Maxx, the largest North American off-price retailer, is trying to give competitor Ross a run for its money on the Westside,... Read more →

MALIBU — City officials here can move forward with the construction of a new park that will also serve as a water treatment facility following a court ruling Tuesday which dismissed a pair of lawsuits filed by Santa Monica Baykeeper. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Thomas I. McKnew, a designated expert judge in environmental... Read more →