Mobility advocates called on the city to join other cities, including Pasadena, San Diego, Oakland and San Francisco, in restricting car traffic on some neighborhood streets to provide more space for pedestrians and cyclists to practice physical distancing.
The Santa Monica Education Foundation’s annual Santa Monica Wine Auction went virtual to continue its tradition of raising funds for local public schools.
The city of Santa Monica extended its moratorium on residential and commercial evictions. The order also extended the time tenants had to pay rent they were unable to pay from six to twelve months.
Santa Monica College offered nearly 3,000 classes and its extensive student support services online for the Fall 2020 semester. This followed an April announcement that the summer session — as well as SMC’s graduation ceremony — would also be held in a virtual environment, to keep the college community safe during the COVID-19 public health crisis.
With 14 mixed-use developments planned or under construction, the stretches of Lincoln Boulevard and Colorado Avenue on the edge of downtown Santa Monica will soon be home to nearly 1,400 new households.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arrested a man after a stabbing at the Downtown Metro station. The victim was stabbed in the chest but survived.
Santa Monica City Council approved a plan that eliminated nearly 400 full-time positions in the city government. The city issued layoff notices to up to 247 full-time employees and negotiated alternate staffing plans with the city’s unions. An additional 126 full-time employees received buyouts to leave their jobs and nearly 150 as-needed employees were let go. The cuts were in response to a projected general fund deficit of $224 million through June 2022.
Southern California faced a heat wave with temperatures ranging from 85 to 90 degrees near some coastal areas and much higher inland due to the continuing influence of high pressure centered over northern Baja California.
County officials outlined plans to begin the slow process of reopening Los Angeles including an acknowledgment that beaches would soon reopen to the public. County trails, golf courses, car dealers, toys shops, book stores, clothing retailers, sporting good stores and music shops were able to open or offer curbside pickup.
The popular chain Shake Shack confirmed it will occupy the former Panera Bread
location at 5th and Wilshire. The corporation submitted documents in March detailing their plans for the location and the project had its first public hearing at the Architectural Review Board.
California was projected to have a budget shortfall of $54.3 billion because of the economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced.
Lime, which announced it was permanently withdrawing from Santa Monica, took over Jump, a bike and scooter company previously owned by Uber that is still operating in the city. Uber lost $2.9 billion in the first quarter as rider demand plummeted amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Los Angeles County launched a coronavirus testing site at Santa Monica College. Testing was by appointment only. While anyone could sign up for a test, people who had COVID-19 symptoms and asymptomatic people who are older than 65, had chronic health conditions or are essential workers were prioritized.
Students from Santa Monica High School, placed second in the National Finals of the 23rd Annual National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB), returning after their second-place win at Nationals last year. The team also won second place in the competition’s Science Expert Briefing.
A Santa Monica man agreed to plead guilty to a federal fraud charge for a romance scam in which he deceived women he met online and elsewhere into investing tens of thousands of dollars into his sham sound design and software companies, only to take the money and spend it on himself.
A massive bioluminescent algae bloom moved through Southern California. Ocean water glowed neon blue when disturbed creating glowing waves and neon dolphins. However, the phenomenon turned sour when the algae die-off created an unpleasant smell for several days.
Los Angeles County beaches reopened but Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the county planned to extend its stay-at-home orders for at least three months to suppress the coronavirus pandemic as confirmed cases and deaths continued to rise.
Big Blue Bus shifted service and cut nearly 50 positions as county stay-at-home orders reduced daily ridership to a quarter of its typical size. BBB had already reduced service during the coronavirus shutdown to serve about 10,000 people each day, many of whom were essential workers.
Even though COVID-19 forced the cancellation of many of its longstanding activities, local nonprofit Elemental Music celebrated its 10th anniversary.
In a move to help the local economy recover after stay-at-home orders are lifted, Santa Monica City Council voted to relax regulations on alcohol service for many restaurants and encouraged nightlife on the Third Street Promenade.
Approximately 13 educators in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District were set to be laid off. SMMUSD’s board voted 4-3 to approve a resolution that accepts a recent decision from an administrative law judge and directed staff to continue with the layoff process.
Santa Monica required people to wear face coverings while outside in alignment with orders from the county. The city of Santa Monica previously asked people to wear masks while visiting or working at essential businesses.
U.S. retail sales tumbled by a record 16.4% from March to April as business shutdowns caused by the coronavirus kept shoppers away, threatened the viability of stores across the country and further weighed down a sinking economy.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Commercial Crimes Division, Intellectual Property Crimes Unit, in collaboration with Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) served a search warrant near the 800 block of Broadway Avenue in the city of Santa Monica. Detectives arrested Ying Lien Wang, 39-years-old, for selling Covid-19 test kits that have not been approved by the Federal Drug Administration.
Rent increases for rent-controlled apartments in Santa Monica were limited to 1.4% this year and the Rent Control Board approved a maximum monthly increase of $32 for renters who pay $2,250 or more in rent.
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School Unified School District revised its grading policy for the 2020 Spring semester in an effort to reflect the challenging circumstances that students have faced this year.
Thanks to a partnership between the Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles County Medical Association and Santa Monica College, hundreds of Westside physicians received personal protective equipment that allowed them to continue practicing during the pandemic.
A report released from the Southern California Association of Governments anticipated that the region will face “severe and longlasting” economic impacts from COVID-19. The SCAG report estimated that Los Angeles County’s unemployment rate had risen to nearly 20% and more than 760,000 people will lose their jobs in 2020.
Santa Monica’s largest affordable housing developer planned to construct 48 apartments on Pico Boulevard across the street from Santa Monica College. Community Corporation of Santa Monica planned to demolish a church at 1819 Pico Blvd. to construct a four-story building for low-income renters. In addition to apartments, the 46-foot-tall building will house a food hall and community room on its ground floor, according to an Architectural Review Board report.
Santa Monica joined several cities across the country in limiting the fees that food delivery apps can charge restaurants. Many restaurants that grudgingly accepted a 20% to 40% fee when delivery orders made up only a portion of their overall revenue were struggling to make a profit. Santa Monica capped the fee apps can charge restaurants for delivery at 15% of the price of the online order and limit all other fees to 5%.
City Hall authorized nine boards and commissions to continue meeting virtually during the pandemic. The selected boards and commissions were allowed to meet as necessary via teleconference.
A property owner shot a man who entered his vacant house. Two executors of an estate on the 400 block of 10th Street in the Noma neighborhood entered the home to prepare it for a sale when they encountered a man inside and shot him in the neck.
Santa Monica’s annual July 4 parade was canceled due to a combination of factors that all trace their roots to the coronavirus crisis.
The Planning Commission voted 5-2 to recommend that City Council eliminate development agreements for downtown housing projects larger than 90,000 square feet and process such projects through a simpler development review permit.
Marcia Bloom, longtime owner of a popular boutique formerly located on Montana Avenue, died after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Santa Monica stores, churches and synagogues were permitted to reopen at decreased capacity under an order from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Faith-based organizations may hold in-person services at up to 25% of the maximum number of congregants the building can hold or 100 people, whichever is lower. Lower-risk retailers such as clothing stores, furniture stores and bookshops, including those within indoor and outdoor malls, can open at 50% capacity.
A local personal injury lawyer filed a lawsuit against Santa Monica-based scooter company Bird alleging the company deploys poorly manufactured and maintained devices.
Local artists came together to “De-Fence Art.” Curated by Italian visual artist Luigia Gio Martelloni, “De-Fence Art (Art in the Time of Isolation)” was an exhibition located on the fence outside 3026 Airport Avenue in Santa Monica.
Los Angeles County permitted restaurants, salons and barbershops throughout the county to open if they followed physical distancing and infection control protocols.
The city of Santa Monica streamlined the approval process for large housing projects downtown as part of ongoing efforts to fulfill a state mandate for the city to accommodate about 9,000 new homes by 2029.
