Miramar revitalization project gains Landmarks Commission approval
On October 14, the Santa Monica Landmarks Commission approved a Certificate of Appropriateness for the Miramar Redevelopment Project at the 1133 Ocean Avenue site, deeming fit the project’s design, materials, colors, landscaping, signage and historic preservation. The planned expansion and modernization of the Miramar includes adding up to 60 residential condominiums, restaurant and retail spaces, a three-level subterranean parking garage and publicly-accessible open space. The project also allocates 15,000 square feet at 1127 and 1129 Second Street for 42 one, two and three-bedroom units at affordability levels ranging from 30% to 80% income households.
Samohi successes, future broached by school board
Santa Monica High School Principal Marae Cruce gave a presentation to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education on October 24, speaking on achievements as well as continued work at Samohi. The Samohi school improvement plan, Cruce stated, is focused on increasing college and career readiness "by focusing on active learning and higher levels of thinking." Looking back at recent celebrations, Samohi was noted to have 27 Commended Students in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program, as well as seven Semifinalist students in the program.
City asks for public input on adult-use cannabis equity program
Santa Monica is asking for community feedback to help shape the social equity component of its adult-use cannabis program. While Santa Monica is well behind the times when it comes to allowing and regulating cannabis sales in town, officials are attempting to turn that bug into a future by embedding social equity rules into as-yet unwritten laws that will allow recreational cannabis dispensaries into the city. The goal of the equity component is to ensure that people and communities most affected by past state and federal criminalization of cannabis have fair opportunities to benefit from the legal cannabis industry.
Samohi fall play brings male, female-led ensembles to the stage
This weekend, Samohi Theatre concludes its production of Christopher Sergel’s play The Outsiders at the campus’ Humanities Center. The play, a faithful adaptation of SE Hinton’s coming-of-age novel, was on the radar of Theater Director Kate Barraza after the majority of her Summer School students credited The Outsiders as their favorite book. The students were broken into two casts, predominantly male and female ensembles, with Barazza adding that her students "embraced" the format and threw their gender differences out the window for the sake of a top-notch production.
Fire on Bay Street damages property, palm trees
In the early morning hours of November 4, a fire was reported in the 200 block of Bay Street, spreading to multiple palm trees and one nearby structure. According to the Santa Monica Fire Department, they responded to a 911 call at 1:37am, but no injuries were reported as all occupants in the nearby structures had already self-evacuated. Despite experiencing high winds, crews were able to extinguish the flames within 25 minutes, but remained on scene for over an hour to ensure the area was safe for residents to return.
Voters battle stress on anxiety-ridden Election Day
Santa Monica’s Election Day saw elongated lines at multiple sites as voters cast ballots in local, state and national elections. There were a total of six voting centers in Santa Monica to choose from, including lines ranging from 50-70 people deep at Lincoln Middle School and Santa Monica College (SMC) in the late morning hours. For the local races, candidates in the Santa Monica City Council race were seen helping voters with information, including Unity Slate candidates Dan Hall at Lincoln Middle School and Ellis Raskin on SMC’s main campus.
Hall, Raskin, Zernitskaya and Snell remain in top spots for City Council race
The Unity Slate backed by Santa Monica’s progressive establishment appeared to win all four seats on City Council on Election Day and the group only increased its margin of election victory with subsequent vote counts. The slate of Dan Hall, Ellis Raskin, Natalya Zernitskaya and Barry Snell ran as a slate; as did opponents Phil Brock, Oscar de la Torre, Vivian Roknian and John Putnam. Outside of the Council race, voters approved a pair of local tax increases, one on parking lots and the other on business licenses.
Santa Monica voters back Hochman and harsher criminal penalties while opposing rent control expansion
While Santa Monica voters backed a slate of progressive, liberal candidates for City Council, voters took a slightly more conservative turn in some regional and state races. At the county level, Santa Monicans were more on par with the region in backing the more conservative Nathan Hochman over incumbent District Attorney George Gascon. Locals were also on par with the state in opposing the expansion of rent control as 54 percent of local voters voted "no" on Prop 33. It was a similar outcome for supporting harsher criminal penalties via Prop 36 with 54% of locals voting in favor.
Japanese cuisine comes local for two-day Pier festival
On both Saturday and Sunday, the Santa Monica Pier will play host to the first-ever Konamon Fest on the West Coast, a tribute to both Japanese street food and culture. Konamon, which is flour-based cuisine, is a hit in its home country and is continuing its American expansion in Santa Monica. The event’s main sponsor is Otafuku, a Japanese sauce and ingredients company that wanted a soiree to celebrate the culture of Konamon. Along with Otafuku, another 15 vendors will be present, including Gindaco, Japan’s most famous brand of Takoykaki, a flour-based batter ball filled with crispy, golden octopus
thomas@smdp.com
