SMC employee’s funeral celebrates life, love and laughter
The funeral of Santa Monica College Custodial Operations Manager Felicia Hudson held on October 18 was a truly beautiful and moving celebration of her life, along with a reminder of the power of laughter and the importance of learning. Hudson was fatally injured following the shooting that occurred at the SMC Center for Media and Design campus on October 14. After the service, 54 doves were released to celebrate every year of her life.
Small-group personal training rising new trend at Downtown gym location
Personal trainer Evan Flock has opened up the second location of Sessions Personal Training at 417 Colorado Ave back in March, and has been the pointman in the latest local fitness trend of semi-private PT sessions. Now at 200-plus members, the gym sets up small group sessions of no more than six people, but each workout still remains very much individual. Workouts are tailored to each individual needs and goals, with Flock saying the community aspect is for people to be along with in "enjoying [and] suffering" workouts.
Livestream, in-person retail hybrid first of its kind on Promenade
On November 1, Outlandish will open its doors at 1228 Third Street Promenade, bridging the connection between e-commerce and in-person retail. The location hosts businesses and online content creators in live-streaming booths where they can sell products to a global audience, while also keeping their stock ready to purchase in-person. Outlandish CEO and Creative Director William Augusta added that local foot traffic will come into the store to interact with brands, while the branded booths will also serve as a home base for live streamers on the TikTok social media application.
School board begins talks over complete Malibu unification package
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education was finally able to discuss a full unification package to separate between Santa Monica and Malibu entities, but the board is not ready to vote on the package just yet. At a special board meeting on October 15, legal and financial consultants walked the board through the three core unification package tenants, those being a revenue sharing agreement, an operational transfer agreement and a joint powers agreement between eventual Santa Monica and Malibu school districts. The board still had several concerns with the package, including the basis of Santa Monica funding via local revenues being more volatile than property tax revenues which anchor the Malibu side of the split.
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church celebrates 50th anniversary of Abbot & Seeker organ
This weekend, as many churchgoers celebrate Reformation Day, the congregation of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church will also be celebrating the 50th anniversary of their impressive Abbott & Sieker organ. The current organ replaced the original ArtCraft organ, which was installed in 1927 after the church was founded and built a year earlier. This 50th anniversary is the first major event on the way to celebrating the centennial of the church itself in October 2026.
Latest vehicle-related death echoes sobering Los Angeles trend
The recent pedestrian death near the Santa Monica Pier has echoed an unfortunate trend in the Los Angeles area. The advocacy group Streets Are For Everyone recently released a report on traffic victims in Los Angeles, stating that 210 have been killed on the city’s streets this year into October. The number is higher than this time last year, with 2023 already being the deadliest year for traffic fatalities since 2003, when Los Angeles data first became available. The latest vehicle-related fatality in Santa Monica took place the evening of October 17, when 34-year-old Therese Allen was struck by a 2015 Infiniti sports utility vehicle on the 1400 block of Santa Monica beach.
Local officials band together to prioritize election safety
In advance of her third Election Day here in Santa Monica and first as City Clerk, Nikima Newsome says the main Election Day priority for her office is "electioneering," or campaigning within 100 feet of a voting center. A misdemeanor under the California Elections Code, electioneering is defined as either soliciting a vote, speaking to a voter on the subject of marking the voter’s ballot, placing a sign relating to voters’ qualifications, or circulating a petition. Newsome noted that the City Clerk’s office has been working with the Santa Monica Police Department and Office of Emergency Management "keeping the ear to the ground" of any election interference, but hasn’t heard of anything planned as of yet.
Algae bloom leads to unique reddish hue off Pier
A sizable algae bloom was seen for miles down the Pacific coastline this week, turning the typical blue waters into a reddish-brown sensation that attracted considerable tourist attention. The "red tide" is also known as a phytoplankton bloom, occurring when a species of the organism known as dinoflagellates reproduce rapidly in warmer and calmer waters. Typically occurring between Santa Barbara and San Diego, Heal the Bay Senior Director of Community Outreach and Communication Meredith McCarthy stated that while the blooms do occur in Santa Monica occasionally, it typically isn’t to this size, with the last "really intense one" seen around 2005.
Oscar de la Torre faced multiple accusations of racism in Council meeting
The October 22 City Council meeting featured Councilmember Oscar de la Torre facing the public on an escalating number of accusations recently made, from a number of different sources, over racist and anti-semitic statements he has allegedly made. A letter written by Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education Vice President Jon Kean, published in the Daily Press on October 11, claimed that de la Torre said "the biggest problem with the school board is that it’s run by the Jews" on August 6, 2019. De la Torre responded with an editorial the following day, and reiterated on the dais that he denies ever making the comment. The Councilmembers said he talked to a consultant about how "the wealthier part of our city is well-represented" on school board, and claimed there may have been a misinterpretation by the consultant.
Santa Monica students help to get out the vote
On October 22, all students from the PBL Pathway at Santa Monica High School went into the community to get out the vote. They offered to assist people in the voting process, helped people get registered, check registration, know where and when they can vote in-person or drop a ballot. They also conducted interviews of people about their experiences with and feelings about voting. The project is part of the Get Out The Vote project, advocating and activating citizens to register to vote and cast their ballot in the November 5th election.
Fast-rising bank expands with new Santa Monica branch
Poppy Bank, named one of the fastest growing banks in the nation by the Inc. 5000 list, welcomed the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon cutting Oct. 23 at its new 2729 Wilshire Blvd. branch. The bank’s services include treasure management, commercial, construction and SBA/USDA lending, as well as C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing. Poppy Bank President and CEO Khalid Acheckzai said Santa Monica "is a tight-knit community with a strong cultural and economic influence," and that the bank’s "business objectives align well with local community initiatives."
Traffic collision on Cloverfield caused by self-inflicted gunshot wound to driver
The driver of a white pickup truck appears to have taken his own life in an incident on October 23 on Cloverfield Blvd. Officers from the Santa Monica Police Department responded to a call at about 3pm regarding a traffic collision involving a truck and motorcyclist in the 1400 block of Cloverfield Blvd, between Broadway and Santa Monica Blvd. According to the Police Department, the motorcyclist was already up, back on his feet and had only minor injuries. When checking on the driver of the truck however, officers discovered him deceased in the rear seat of the vehicle from a single self-inflicted gunshot wound. No one else was injured in the incident. The driver of the truck is approximately 20 years old and not from California, with the investigation still ongoing.
Metro shares vision for 17th/SMC affordable housing site
Metro Los Angeles laid out its preliminary plans for an income-restricted housing development adjacent to the 17th Street/Santa Monica College Expo Line station on October 23. The plan is to take underutilized Metro-owned properties around the station, with a Request for Proposals to developers to be released this coming Winter season, and negotiations between Metro and a selected developer set for early 2025. The project is part of Metro’s 10,000 Home Commitment, a plan to have 10,000 units (5,000 affordable) by 2031.
Santa Monica-born composing prodigy releases first album at 17
At 17 years of age, Samuel Siskind has already crafted a career in music composition, releasing his debut album Awake in August and bringing his live music to Newport Beach on Nov. 3 for a show with Choral Arts Initiative. Born in Santa Monica, the former Crossroads School for the Arts & Sciences attendee also earned the 2024 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award. Siskind began working on Awake during the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to encapsulate the isolation he and his peers were facing at the time.
thomas@smdp.com
