The Early Childhood Lab School (ECLS) does not belong in the Civic Center Specific Plan. Building it requires accepting a terrible economic deal that uses resident-owned land to benefit private interests instead of addressing the greatest public good.

Santa Monica College (SMC) proposes to lease two acres at $1/year for 65 years and accept $6M from the City’s general fund to build an ECSL satellite campus and private child-care facility for children of city employees, college personnel, and the RAND Corporation (headquartered across Main Street from the Civic Center).

Read More: http://smdp.com/remove-the-ecls-from-the-civic-center/161504

June 29, 2017 -- The Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday approved a record $1.57 billion biennial budget that represents a 27 percent jump from its predecessor even as the City braces for an economic slow-down.

Approved was a $774.9 million budget for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, with spending increases driven by construction of a downtown fire station, a $77 million bond for an annex to City Hall and steep costs tied to employee pensions and health care.

The second half of the biennial budget is $802.8 million.

In a statement, City Manager Rick Cole said the biennial budget “marks a transition” as the City faces $387 million in unfunded employee pension costs and other rising spending at a time when bounties from sales taxes, property taxes and other tradition revenues slow.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/June-2017/06_29_2017_Santa_Monica_City_Council_Approves_Record_Budget.html

Ms. Dilg comes to Santa Monica as part of a distinguished career in public service.  She is currently Senior Counsel to UCLA, where she provides legal advice across the broad range of the University’s teaching, research and public service activities, in substantive areas ranging from constitutional and employment law to health, business and real estate law.

Prior to her time at UCLA, Dilg spent four years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Central District Office in California. There she prosecuted public corruption, organized crime, human trafficking, fraud and other federal criminal offenses. Dilg also served as Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where she was a trusted legal advisor to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein in confirmation hearings for United States Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and during consideration of the Affordable Care Act. Ms. Dilg’s experience also includes time as a civil litigator at the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and Susman Godfrey, LLP. She served last year as a member of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris’ transition team upon Senator Harris’ election to the United States Senate. She is currently an Appellate Lawyer Representative to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Read More: http://smdp.com/santa-monica-city-council-names-new-city-attorney-lane-dilg/161479

The City of Santa Monica’s per capita spending for operations in its proposed $773.7 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year far exceeds that of most comparable cities in the region, according to an analysis by The Lookout.

A sample survey of half a dozen well-to-do municipalities in Los Angeles County shows Santa Monica is only second to Beverly Hills when it comes to per capita spending and spends more than twice as much per resident as Culver City and Torrance.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/June-2017/06_27_2017_%20Proposed_Per_Capita_Spending_in_Santa_Monica_Far_Exceeds_Most_Comparable_Cities.html

Santa Monica has a new minimum wage law.  As of July 1, 2016, the minimum wage is $10.50 per hour, with annual increases as shown below, reaching $15.00 per hour on July 1, 2020. Smaller businesses (less than 25 employees) and qualifying nonprofits have an additional year to comply with the new law.

Read More: https://beta.smgov.net/strategic-goals/inclusive-diverse-community/minimum-wage-ordinance

by JOHN CYRUS SMITH, Chairman of the Santa Monica Recreation and Parks Commission.

AT THE THURSDAY, JUNE 15 SPECIAL Meeting of the Recreation and Parks Commission, the Commission unanimously approved a motion recommending that the City Council devote two-thirds of the 2.73 acre, 4th/5th & Arizona site to ground level public park space as part of the Downtown Community Plan.

I hope the Council will also consider buying our landmarked Post Office (which is now for sale) for $40 million and make THAT the new City Hall Annex, which is currently slated to be built behind City Hall and would cost twice as much, even before you add the interest on the bonds being touted to finance it.

Read More on pg. 5: http://backissues.smdp.com/062217.pdf

A lawsuit challenging the way voters choose their Councilmembers in Santa Monica will continue, despite a City effort to have the suit thrown out of court.

Earlier this month, a Superior Court judge overruled the City Attorney’s objections that the suit based on the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) is invalid. The Pico Neighborhood Association brought the lawsuit against the City in 2016 in an effort to force Santa Monica to change to district-based elections.

Read More: http://smdp.com/lawsuit-challenging-santa-monica-elections-survives-city-challenge/161439

The Santa Monica Smokefree Housing Ordinance passed in 2012 allows all residents who smoked to continue to smoke in their units. Only when those residents move out, are their units required to become smokefree.

Our group, Smoke-Free Living Santa Monica, is hoping that residents of apartments and condominiums in Santa Monica, especially those who are still suffering from a neighbor’s tobacco smoke, will contact the mayor and/or their favorite council members. Tell the City Council that it’s time to review the Santa Monica ordinance and take action to strengthen it. 

Read More: http://smdp.com/letter-to-editor-smokefree-laws-are-not-enough/161423

Coyotes can be very active this time of year. During spring and into early summer, coyote cubs will emerge from their dens along with other members within their pack in search of food. The loss of pets can become more prevalent as mother coyotes attempt to teach their young how to hunt.

We’ve received numerous calls about coyote sightings, some that have resulted in a loss of a pet. In response to this, Santa Monica’s Animal Control unit has increased its effort to “haze” coyotes within the city. The term “haze” consists of using air horns, water guns, tennis ball sticks, or simply walking towards coyotes in an attempt to instill fear of humans. Ultimately, our goal is to reduce the prevalence of coyotes in the community.

Read More: http://smmirror.com/2017/06/how-to-live-safely-with-urban-coyotes/

The city is fifth in the nation in terms of renters

 stretched thin by housing costs

The high cost of housing in Los Angeles is very well documented, and so is the lack of affordability for many area residents. But a new report from apartment listing site Abodo yields some surprising results about how stretched thin LA renters are compared to those in other U.S. cities.

Read More:  https://la.curbed.com/2016/11/3/13510538/housing-costs-high-los-angeles-affordable-rent