Starting next month, Santa Monica businesses will begin receiving 100 percent green power through the city's new default energy provider, City officials said Thursday.

The businesses -- which account for 75 percent of Santa Monica's electricity demand -- will follow the lead of residents, who began using the Clean Power Alliance (CPA) as their energy provider in February.

City officials said the transition to the government-run power agency "will have a huge impact on reducing Santa Monica’s greenhouse gas emissions."

Customers can choose between three tiers -- 100 percent, 50 percent and 36 percent -- offered by the CPA, which requires its member cities to select a default rate option.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2019/April-2019/04_04_2019_Santa_Monica_Businesses_to_Begin_Receiving_100_Percent_Green_Energy.html

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2019/04/04/santa-monica-businesses-transition-to-green-power-starting-in-may

In early April, Santa Monica will launch the Citywide Dashboard, which is designed to provide transparency in the City’s efforts to use data to drive decisions to achieve community outcomes.

Starting in 2017, the City began organizing work efforts around outcomes in the strategic vision for our City called our “Framework for a Sustainable City of Wellbeing.” The Framework outcomes are: Connected and Engaged Community (Community); Inclusive, Affordable and Diverse Local Economy (Economic Opportunity); Reliable, Effective and Efficient Government (Governance); Physical, Mental and Environmental Health (Health); Lifelong Opportunities for Personal Growth (Learning); Resilient Built and Natural Environment (Place and Planet); A Safe Place for All (Safety). Each of these seven outcomes includes outcome metrics, all backed by current and relevant data, to help us understand whether we are on track to achieve these outcomes.

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/blog/a-clearer-picture-with-the-citywide-dashboard

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2019/04/09/new-performance-dashboard-shares-progress-on-community-outcomes-with-the-public

See Map at: Detailed Beat Map-April 2019.jpg

Members of black and Latino families displaced generations ago by the Civic Center and 10 Freeway would be given priority for affordable housing under a proposal by Santa Monica Council member Kevin McKeown.

The Council last Tuesday voted unanimously to explore the "restorative justice" measure as a way to commemorate the Belmar Triangle neighborhood that was destroyed in the 1950s to pave the way for the Civic Auditorium.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2019/April-2019/04_03_2019_Santa_Monica_Explores_Proposal_to_Bring_Back_Minority_Families_%20Displaced_in_the_1950s%20.html

When the next Santa Monica election rolls around Nikima “Niki” Newsome will be charged with making sure everything runs smoothly.

Newsome was tapped by City Clerk Denise Anderson-Warren as Santa Monica's new Assistant Director of Records and Election Services/Assistant City Clerk.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2019/April-2019/04_02_2019_Santa_Monica_Hires_New_Assistant_City_Clerk.html

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2019/04/02/nikima-newsome-selected-as-assistant-city-clerk

See the list compiled by the National Multifamily Housing Council: https://www.nmhc.org/globalassets/advocacy/rent-control/Rent-Control-by-State-Chart.pdf

 The Consumer Protection Division of the Santa Monica City Attorney's Office, along with the Santa Monica Rent Control Board, Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) and ACTION Apartment Association will co-sponsor the workshop Fair Housing Issues in Rental Housing on Tuesday, April 23, 2019 from 9 am to 12 pm at the Santa Monica Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd.

Read More: http://calendar.smgov.net/other/eventsignup.asp?ID=952&rts=&disptype=&ret=eventcalendar.asp&pointer=&returnToSearch=&SignupType=&num=0&ad=&dt=mo&mo=4%2F1%2F2019&df=calendar&EventType=ALL&Lib=ALL&AgeGroup=ALL&LangType=0&WindowMode=&noheader=&lad=&pub=1&nopub=&page=&pgdisp=

by Robert Kronovet

How is it possible that everyone finds protections under the umbrella of the Santa Monica City government: the hotel worker, every single laborer, all tenants, every man or woman with various sexual orientations?

The only individual that enjoys no protections but consistent prosecution is the woman housing provider, the lady landlord.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2019/04_01_2019_LETTERS_Protect_the_Local_Landlady.html

A Los Angeles program for developing affordable housing continues to discriminate against people with disabilities, producing kitchens, bathrooms, balconies and other living spaces that aren’t safely accessible to wheelchair users, federal officials said Monday.

In a 19-page letter, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said city officials failed to provide adequate oversight of the developers who built low-income apartments with federal funds.

Read More: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-disabled-housing-investigation-20190401-story.html

Santa Monica has become a city separated by a rental divide, with some tenants paying triple what their next-door neighbors pay for a similar unit.

Market-rate tenants in the beach city paid more than twice as much as long-term tenants irregardless of the unit's size or location, according to the Rent Control Board's annual report.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2019/April-2019/04_01_2019_Santa_Monicas_Newer_Renters_Pay_More_Than_Double_What_Long_Time_Tenants_Pay.html