December in Santa Monica saw developments in education, public safety, and urban development, while the city continued implementing infrastructure changes.
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District reported significant academic progress in its 2024 California School Dashboard, achieving a 97.4% graduation rate, exceeding the state average of 86.7%. Six campuses showed improvement in English Language Arts and Mathematics assessment scores.
A dramatic high-speed pursuit ended in Santa Monica when a stolen Infiniti, reaching speeds of 120 mph on the 10 Freeway, crashed after an 11-mile chase from downtown Los Angeles. Police arrested two suspects following the incident.
Emergency services successfully intervened in a potential suicide attempt at Parking Structure #4 on 2nd Street, deploying an inflatable emergency airbag while officers negotiated with a woman on the ledge.
Two major development proposals emerged: a mixed-use project at Olympic Boulevard and 14th Street would replace the Snyder Diamond showroom with an eight-story building containing 222 apartments, while another project at 1320 Pico Boulevard proposed 100 apartments in an eight-story structure.
The city implemented promised speed limit reductions on Neilson Way, lowering the limit from 30 to 25 mph following a comprehensive traffic survey conducted earlier in the year.
In local education, PS Science expanded its reach by launching a middle school curriculum focused on STEM learning and technology-driven research. Meanwhile, the school district's maintenance team reported completing over 5,000 work orders during the 2023-24 school year, including addressing a summer rodent infestation at John Adams Middle School.
Montana Avenue welcomed new business Hummingbird Home & Co., a boutique offering home goods and decorative pieces.
The Santa Monica Pier marked the end point of a notable cross-country bicycle journey, as 25-year-old Rio Murray completed his nearly 3,000-mile ride from Times Square, gathering a significant social media following along the way.
December
Hummingbird lands on Montana: Hummingbird Home & Co., a home goods and boutique owned by Ashley Frawley, opened its doors on Montana Ave. Boasting a mix of unique and colorful pieces like table linens and dinnerware, Frawley looked to Montana for her shop due to a successful pop-up and dates she and her now-husband shared at Primo Passo Coffee Co and Marmalade Cafe.
District report shows academic growth in fundamental subjects: Campuses throughout Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District saw marked improvements in several categories in the 2024 California School Dashboard. The district was noted as having a Graduation Rate of 97.4% in 2023-24, up 2.2% from the prior year and outpacing the state rate of 86.7%. Looking at individual campus performance on the dashboard, six campuses saw increased performance in English Language Arts and Mathematics assessment scores.
Cyclist ends cross-country trek at Santa Monica Pier: In November, Rio Murray, a 25-year-old from Numazu, Japan, rode a bicycle nearly 3,000 miles from Times Square to the Santa Monica Pier. Mr. Murata left New York on Sept. 12 with 1,617 followers on Instagram, but through his travels, he arrived in Santa Monica with over 180,000 followers, with close to 500 showing up at the Pier.
14th and Olympic could see significant change with mixed-use proposal: The north-west corner of Olympic Blvd. and 14th St. could undergo some significant change as an application filed with the city suggests that kitchen and bath showroom Snyder Diamond is putting its Santa Monica location up for redevelopment. The proposal is for a new eight-story build featuring 222 studio, one, two and three bedroom apartments above approximately 9,484 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a two-level, 211-car subterranean parking garage.
IV innovation pads Downtown med spa’s services: In November, med-spa Dripology at 1411 7th St. unveiled its FAST NAD+ IV drip, delivering the powerful benefits of NAD+ in just under 15 minutes. Found in all living cells, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is designed to boost cellular energy, mental clarity and longevity. While NAD+ treatments (also available at Dripology) can take anywhere from 1-4 hours, the FAST NAD drip gives a patient one-fourth of a typical dosage.
1320 Pico Blvd proposal includes 100 apartments in eight story building: A plan for the development of a commercial site just two blocks west of Santa Monica College proposes the construction of a new eight-story edifice according to an application being considered by the City of Santa Monica. The 1320 Pico Blvd. project would incorporate 100 studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments on top of parking for 78 vehicles. In addition to the structure, the proposal also includes a small four-story structure at the rear of the site with amenities that include a pool, a gym and multiple terrace decks.
120mph pursuit of stolen car from downtown LA ends with crash in Santa Monica: A high-speed pursuit that started in downtown Los Angeles ended in Santa Monica with a crash and the subsequent arrest of two suspects. According to reports, the chase began a little after 8 p.m. on Dec. 4 with the Los Angeles Police Department pursuing a suspect driving a stolen Infiniti saloon westbound on the 10 Freeway. Footage from ABC7’s helicopter showed the vehicle swerving dangerously through traffic and using the shoulder of the freeway to pass other cars. At times, the suspect exceeded 120mph, covering the 11-or-so miles from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica in just a few minutes.
Emergency services prevent potential suicide jump from parking structure 4: Officers from the Santa Monica Police Department, Fire Department plus employees of Legion and Downtown Ambassadors, responded to a potential suicide jumper at Parking Structure #4 on the 1300 block of 2nd Street, the morning of Dec. 6. An SMAlert was sent at 9:16am and a giant, inflatable emergency airbag could be seen deployed at 2nd Court alley, adjacent to the Promenade on the west side. Witnesses say they could see a woman sitting on a ledge as members of the police department spoke to her.
Promised speed limits changes put into effect on Neilson Way: Speed limit reductions on Neilson Way are now in place having dropped 5 miles per hour, from 30 to 25, as part of a series of reductions made around Santa Monica after a survey was completed earlier this year. The survey, conducted from January 27 through July 29, includes measurement of vehicular speeds along roadway segments to determine the speed of a majority of drivers, which is the most effective attribute in establishing speed limits. The subsequent motion received unanimous approval by the Santa Monica City Council in the August 27, 2024 meeting.
Middle schoolers branch out into STEM learning: This year, PS Science launched its middle school curriculum, providing materials to local school sites and teachers for STEM lessons and using technology to do student-driven research. Lesson plans for middle schoolers also include learning about the importance of technological advances, as well as in-depth subjects like the gene modification process.Rats to repairs: Inside SMMUSD’s 5,000-work-order year: At the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education’s November 21 meeting, Maintenance and Operations staff gave the board its progress report from the 2023-24 school year, which kept the division busy, closing 4,065 maintenance work orders and 969 operations work orders across the district. Both Santa Monica High School and Malibu High/Middle School took priority from the crews, including over 1,000 maintenance work orders closed on the Samohi campus. On the middle school level, maintenance staff dealt with a rodent infestation over the summer at John Adams Middle School, working to seal off any openings the small animals were using to enter the building.
