As the Fourth of July holiday approaches, many Southern Californians might be dusting off their grill and preparing to spend the holiday weekend enjoying picnics at the beach, or barbequing in the backyard. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health would like to remind cooks that combining warm temperatures and the great outdoors... Read more →

Editor’s Note: This is a series in which Daily Press writers overhear and observe happenings around Santa Monica. LINCOLN BLVD. — A blond woman in black jeans strode purposefully down Broadway on Wednesday, quickening her pace as she approached a flashing orange hand at the Lincoln crosswalk. After crossing, she headed to the... Read more →

SMMUSD HDQTRS — Despite months spent overhauling the district’s homework policy, a new set of guidelines might not be ready in time for the start of the school year after a concerned Board of Education on Wednesday sent a draft version back to its staff for more tinkering. The board had issues with a number of areas, including a... Read more →

MID CITY — Harve Presnell, whose booming baritone graced such Broadway musicals as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” and “Annie,” has died at age 75. The actor died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer at St. John’s Health Center, said Gregg Klein, Presnell’s agent. Although he was best known for his roles in... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — Investigators with the police and fire departments are asking for the public’s help in identifying the person or persons responsible for three car fires that erupted late Tuesday and early Wednesday. SMFD Capt. Brad Graham said fire fighters from Engine 123 responded to three separate and suspicious vehicle fires over... Read more →

SM PIER — Connecting the world through music. That’s the impetus for Playing for Change, a diverse, multi-cultural, global music project which started eight years ago when Grammy winning producer/engineer Mark Johnson (then living in New York) was on his way to work. “While he was waiting on the subway platform he heard and... Read more →

SUNSET PARK — A consumer advocate group based in Santa Monica has accused California regulators of violating mental health and other laws by allowing health insurers to deny certain treatments for children with autism. Consumer Watchdog, which monitors insurance practices, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. It asks a... Read more →

CITY HALL — Cab companies will now have to battle for the right to pick up customers in Santa Monica after the City Council on Tuesday established a more stringent licensing system to relieve a notoriously overcrowded taxi population. The new franchise structure, which will officially take effect after the council approves it upon a... Read more →

CITY HALL — A proposal by city officials to streamline the permit application process to install photovoltaic panels has drawn concerns from solar advocates who believe that a new provision could deter interested property owners in the future. The issue in question concerns a subsection in the new ordinance that would require solar... Read more →

LOS ANGELES — A powerful House committee chairman with a central role in President Barack Obama’s global warming and health care legislation has been hospitalized. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., was not feeling well Tuesday and was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for “routine testing,” spokeswoman... Read more →

CITYWIDE — Business owners and shoppers across the city are gritting their teeth in anticipation of the sales tax increase going into effect today, raising Santa Monica’s rate to 9.75 percent. “It’s counterproductive to what the state wants to do,” said Pat Barrett, president of Barrett’s Appliances on... Read more →

Santa Monica Fire Chief Jim Hone wants to remind everyone that lighting fireworks is illegal in Santa Monica, so instead of breaking the law, join him for the third annual Fourth of July Parade along Main Street. Hone will be the grand marshal for this year’s event, which begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Civic Center on Independence Day.... Read more →

Between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. Thursday, water to the pier will be shut off to allow time for a quick repair on the sewer line. The city asks that pier tenants refrain from using sinks and faucets or flushing toilets and urinals between these hours. “If anybody flushes, we’re dead,” said on-site project manager Randall Martinez.... Read more →

The Santa Monica Museum of Art recently appointed Bruce A. Samuels, MD, and Randi Malkin Steinberger to its board of trustees. Samuels is a cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and an assistant clinical professor of medicine at UCLA. He recently led an effort to provide uninsured and under-insured artists with access to... Read more →

CITY HALL — A pair of parking structures in Downtown Santa Monica could soon be reduced to a pile of concrete. The City Council on Tuesday is expected to approve a $195,000 contract with Morley Construction Company to design and build new garages on the 1200 block of Fourth Street and the 1400 block of Second Street where structures... Read more →