Mayoral transition meeting included talk of drones and acrobats
The Dec. 12 meeting of Santa Monica City Council was a mostly light affair, but more importantly, it marked the last with Gleam Davis as Mayor, before Councilmember Phil Brock takes over for a period of one year. Davis will remain on Council, but she along with Brock and Councilmembers Oscar de la Torre and Christine Parra are up for re-election next year, if the city’s election process remains unchanged as the outcome of the long gestating California Voting Rights Act could potentially upend the election process. Other highlights included authorizing the city to execute a second modification to the agreement with Flying Lion Incorporated to provide air support services for the Santa Monica Police Department, as well as authorizing the City to enter into a license agreement with Cirque du Soleil to use a portion of Lot 1N directly north of the Santa Monica Pier from Oct. 1, 2024 to Jan. 24, 2025.
spcaLA animal shelters face food shortage
A tradition of animal care dating back to the 1800s is in danger during the 2023 holiday season, as a food shortage risks serious issues arising at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA). The nonprofit animal welfare organization has served Southern California since 1877, but had to make an “urgent appeal” to area residents to donate pet food or funds in order to make it through the rest of 2023. The organization’s President, Madeline Bernstein, said that spcaLA is at a “critical” food shortage due to an increasing number of pets under its care.
Recent exhibit shines spotlight on Samohi artists
The Santa Monica High School’s robust visual arts department brought locals to the Samohi Roberts Art Gallery on Dec. 7 for the Samohi Spotlight Exhibit. Put together by Samohi senior Flynn Latta, the gallery was adorned with selected pieces from Samohi advanced art students in art forms like photography, digital art, ceramics, acrylics and sculptures, along with more traditional paintings. Along with just showing off their works, Samohi students had the option to sell art pieces to gallery visitors, of which there were many during the two-hour showcase.
Accusations of antisemitism prompt federal investigation of SMC
Santa Monica College (SMC) has been added to a list of educational institutions under investigation by the federal government for civil rights violations. SMC was one of six schools added to a list of investigations in early December after an initial group of educational institutions were identified by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights as under investigation for alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in November. According to the Dept. of Education, these investigations focus on shared ancestry violations, addressing discrimination and harassment, including antisemitism, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab incidents, since the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023.
Eviction of disabled longtime resident delayed
The case of a longtime Santa Monica resident concerning his current housing accommodations will be moving to a jury trial at a later date. On Dec. 11, an update on the case of 3231-3301 OPB Buildings against defendant Scott Brutzman was held at Santa Monica Courthouse, with the Dec. 11 initially-scheduled jury trial date now moved to an unspecified date in the future. The case concerns Brutzman’s residency status at 3301 Ocean Park Boulevard, wherein the defendant has been staying at the commercial property after the closure of his insurance business at the location.
Franklin busy with bees in growing TK program
As part of Franklin Elementary School and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s growing TK (Transitional Kindergarten) program, the young TK crop at the school has been involved in a project-based learning unit busy with bee knowledge and creative endeavors. Led by general education teacher Danielle Eden and special education teacher Nell Canon, the tag-team of teachers brought students into the beehive with a host of fun projects, including the creation of a bee sanctuary for Franklin’s TK-Kindergarten yard.
Vikings hoops start strong in non-league slate
The Samohi Vikings showed out in front of a home crowd on Dec. 7, taking down Dorsey by a score of 71-27. The victory was the sixth of the season for the basketball unit, undefeated in non-tournament play after the win over Dorsey. Led by junior Jayden Xu and senior big man Anton Berge Wells, the Vikings returned to action last month after a 2022-23 campaign that ended with an 18-12 record, 4-6 in Bay League play.
Locals’ Night at the Pier will include Mayoral handover ceremony
The Holiday Season edition of the popular Locals’ Night event, held every month n the Santa Monica Pier, is set to include a Mayoral handover ceremony, marking the transition from the end of Mayor Gleam Davis’ term and the beginning of Phil Brock’s one year term in the center seat. It will take place inside the Pier’s famous Merry Go-Round Building on Dec. 21.
Businesses learn to go green for holidays and beyond
Locals recently broadened their horizons on the intersection between business and environmental sustainability, taking part in the “All Shades of Green” mixer event at the HGA Architects and Engineers building Dec. 5. Throughout the two-hour get-together, multiple city officials and HGA representatives provided pointers on how businesses can get involved in eco-friendly activities, such as taking part in a water conservation rebate program, the Santa Monica Green Business Certification Program and the 2024 Sustainable Quality Awards.
District staff additions, appointments highlight final 2023 board meeting
Staffing change approvals and several financial reports were broached by the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education during their final meeting of 2023. On Dec. 14, the board met for the first time since Nov. 16, appointing several new roles in the district such as the promotion of Daniela Wiener from assistant principal to principal at McKinley Elementary School. The former McKinley principal, Dr. Ashley Benjamin, was recently promoted to the position of Director of Curriculum and Instruction in the district, and had been working in both that and the principal role during a transitional period. The Board also heard reports on the 2023-24 First Interim Report as it pertains to the SMMUSD budget, as well as 2022-23 school year audit reports on Measures R, BB, ES, SMS and M.
Judge sides with County courts in cashless bail lawsuit
A judge has gutted a lawsuit by several cities, including Santa Monica, targeting recently established bail rules that eliminated cash bail for most suspects but the ruling allows plaintiffs to amend and resubmit the lawsuit. A group of cities had argued that the new rules amounted to a violation of the court’s responsibility to uphold public safety, but Orange County Superior Court Judge William D. Claster rejected that argument saying there was no constitutional requirement to use cash bail. Claster also rejected a request to suspend the new bail rules saying the Los Angeles courts were required to implement an alternative to cash bail in an earlier case.
Bacon is the big deal for new business openings
Downtown Santa Monica has seen some high profile closures recently across both retail and restaurant spaces but there are several new businesses cropping up including a breakfast spot specializing in the best breakfast meat. Closures include Del Frisco’s Grille, Jinky’s, Carlo’s Bake Shop, The Independence, REI, Dagwood’s, Tara’s Himalayan and HiDeHo Comics. New openings include Bandit Bikes, El Husuba, Little Hawaii Smoothie Bar, Impasta, Pieces Los Angeles, CoComelon Party Time and Sweet Maple.
Divine Vintage is celebrating one year of creative success on Montana Avenue
Although tiny in size, Divine Vintage is celebrating a big milestone after their first year of doing business on Montana Avenue. To celebrate their one-year anniversary, the store is offering a promotion all December long. All new wine is 20% off, along with all new wine club sign ups. If any current members refer a friend, 20% off a January wine club membership will be added as well. They are also introducing a new slew of wine classes, including Champagne and Caviar, and Party Wines.
Flocks of locals had drinks flowing on Dec. 16 for a milestone anniversary in entertainment and charity. The annual Santa Monica Pub Crawl held its 15th get together through three distinct bar and restaurant routes, with more than 20 local establishments offering exclusive food and drinks specials throughout the evening. The night culminated in Santa’s Secret After Party at 1212 on the Third Street Promenade. In the spirit of giving, the annual event benefits the Westside Food Bank, which provides free access to nutritious food through acquisition and distribution. Since the crawl began in 2008, the food bank has received 20% of the event’s net profit, providing over half a million meals through contributions.
Orchestra kicks off week of winter music shows
The Samohi Orchestras started a week of Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District winter shows strong, bringing its brightest string prodigies to the stage at Barnum Hall on Dec. 12. Directed by Jason Aiello and Jim Wang, the orchestras Winter Concert included performances by combined string and concert, concert, sinfonia, intermezzo, chamber, philharmonic and symphony orchestras. District musical performances continued throughout the week from the John Adams Middle School choir, the Malibu choirs, the Lincoln Middle School band and the Samohi choir.
Federal labor regulators demand Starbucks reopen shuttered location
The Starbucks corporation may be forced to reopen a location at the Santa Monica Pier that closed in 2022 following a ruling by federal regulators this week accusing the company of trying to undermine unionization efforts across the country. Regional Director Ronald K. Hooks in the National Labor Relation Board’s Region 19 (Seattle) Office issued a complaint on December 13 against Starbucks Corporation consolidating several cases along the West Coast. The complaint alleged that Starbucks closed 23 stores (including the Ocean Front Walk & Moss store in Santa Monica and five other stores in LA), eight of which had Workers United certified as bargaining representative, to discourage membership in a labor organization. The complaint further alleges that Starbucks closed the stores without prior notice to the union and without affording the union an opportunity to bargain about the decisions and that a manager told employees they could not “borrow” shifts at other stores while the employer negotiated with the union about the closures.
Santa Monica Rugby Club hosts Oxford University RFC
The Santa Monica Rugby Club hosted the Oxford University first XV on Dec. 12 in an enjoyable, albeit somewhat one-sided game played at the grounds of Santa Monica High School, with the gamer ultimately ending in a 47-7 visitors victory. Oxford were coming to the end of their four-game Southern California tour, having played games against the San Diego Legion and the Chicago Hounds, both in San Diego, as well as a thrilling match against the UCLA Bruins.
During the Dec. 12 meeting of Santa Monica City Council, long-serving City Clerk Denise Anderson-Warren was honored in her last Council meeting before retiring from public service. Anderson-Warren’s first appearance in chambers was a special meeting on Friday, November 21, 2003, and she previously served as Deputy City Clerk before obtaining her certification as a Certified Municipal Clerk. A video showing archived footage of that meeting was shown as part of a tribute to Anderson-Warren.
ross@smdp.com
