Santa Monica College (SMC) is seeking business representatives to help oversee the implementation of bond measures that are funding capital improvement projects.

The deadline to apply to the seven-member Citizens Bond Oversight Committee is Friday, May 24.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2021/May-2021/05_06_2021_SMC_Seeks_Local_Business_Reps_for_Bond_Committee.html

Santa Monica brings in a great deal of tax revenue, more per capita than most small cities in California so why then are we increasingly in need of additional funding, bond issuances, and restructuring old and increasing debts? The answer lies in knowing and understanding how our tax dollars and city revenues from other sources are actually allocated and expended specifically, not just as displayed to the public in a general or summarized accounting version. 

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2021/05/sma-r-t-column-santa-monica-needs-more-sunshine/

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ruled that the Centers for Disease Control overstepped its statutory authority in issuing a nationwide ban on tenant evictions. 

The judge’s ruling does not affect the numerous state and local bans on evictions, although any legal challenges to them have a much greater chance of success now that the federal courts have weighed in.

In fact, in two other cases challenging the evictions, landlords came out on top.

Read More: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2021/05/05/federal-judge-vacates-cdcs-nationwide-eviction-moratorium-n1444850

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance that strengthens eviction protections countywide on Tuesday, creating one of the strictest eviction bans in the state.

Passed by a close 3-2 vote, the ordinance will halt all “just cause” evictions, including those being let go for lease violations, and can only be evicted for health and safety violations. Property owners will also not be able to move back into their property and remove the renter, or remove the renter for building rehab reasons.

Read More: https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/san-diego-county-board-of-supervisors-to-halt-nearly-all-evictions-under-new-ordinance/

If a group can claim to be within the letter of the law, they can hope you never find out what they have really done, which is likely against the spirit of the law. If outed, they can throw up their hands in innocence and argue with a straight face that their letter compliance is actually the correct path.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/words-matter/204514

Senate Bill 668, authored by Sen. Patricia Bates (Laguna Niguel) – to give families more time to plan for transfers of property. Under Proposition 19, narrowly passed in November, property that is transferred from parents to children will be reassessed to market value as of the date of transfer, with only narrow exceptions. This new “inheritance tax” took effect on February 16.

Read More: https://presscalifornia.com/2021/05/04/coupal-contact-sacramento-now-to-stop-hefty-inheritance-tax/

Located at 1819 Pico Boulevard, the former site of Mount Hermon Baptist Church, the groundbreaking was broadcast via virtual ceremony back in early April by the Community Corporation of Santa Monica, a Santa Monica-based non-profit organization that builds and manages affordable housing.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2021/05/nearly-50-unit-affordable-housing-complex-breaks-ground-in-santa-monica/

n what is likely an unprecedented move, three City Councilmembers on Monday filed declarations in Superior Court on behalf of plaintiffs seeking attorneys fees in a lawsuit against the City.

The declarations were made by Councilmembers Phil Brock, Oscar de la Torre and Christine Parra, whose campaigns supported the lawsuit filed by slow-growth activists to halt the 357,000-square-foot Plaza project on City owned land Downtown.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2021/May-2021/05_04_2021_New_Councilmembers_Support_Legal_Fees_for_Attorneys_Who_Sued_the_City.html

See More: https://smmirror.com/2021/05/rents-on-the-rise-in-santa-monica-santa-monica-beat-may-3-2021/

President Biden’s American Jobs Plan proposes to eliminate 1031 exchanges on profits of more than $500,000. 

Read More: https://files.constantcontact.com/588963b0501/22016fd5-a825-48ac-b46b-28cb9d9e1a88.pdf