Background: Civic Center Goes Up, and Down
Downtown Santa Monica and what we call the Civic Center were divided by an arroyo until 1922, when the Main Street bridge was built across said arroyo. The gorgeous Streamline Moderne City Hall was built in 1938. About the same time, the Evening Outlook and the Santa Monica Realty Board sponsored a Civic Center design competition. There were many entries, but nothing came of it. In 1951, the City sold eight-plus acres across Main Street from City Hall to the RAND Corporation... Read More
Word Play: Vibrant as in City
As everyone knows by now, City Hall’s favorite word is “vibrant.” Virtually everything it does is “vibrant” or will be when the City is done with it. But what does it mean? It means “moving to and fro rapidly; vibrating; vibrating so as to produce sound, as a string; sounds characterized by perceptible vibration; resonant; resounding.” And ”pulsating with vigor and energy vigorous; energetic; vital; exciting; stimulating; lively.” And “Phonetics. made with... Read More
Media Notes: CBS News’s Fall
Tonight, CBS News inadvertently demonstrated how far it has fallen by following a 90th birthday tribute to Walter Cronkite, a great newsman, its longtime anchor, and, in his time, “the most trusted man in America,” with “Dr. Phil: A Primetime Special: Caged.” And if further proof of CBS News’ decline were needed, Katie Couric, CBS Evening News’ current anchor, was among the people paying tribute to the great old newsman. The contrast between Cronkite, and Couric,... Read More
WHY WE FIGHT Will Make You Mad
Since most major American newspapers, magazines, network television and radio news departments and 24-hour news channels have been reduced to minor cogs in major corporate empires, they’re naturally more interested in the adventures of Paris Hilton than the misadventures and misdeeds of the Bush administration. Even when big media do what they call investigative reporting, it generally stays on the trivial side of the street. These days, the best investigative work can be... Read More
A Day in the Life…
The following headlines appeared in The New York Times today, Wednesday, May 16, 2007: Bush Intervened in Dispute Over NSA Eavesdropping Bush Pick Gets Extra Payment From Old Job Bush Opens Door to Wolfowitz’s Resigning Voluntarily White House Picks General To Coordinate Its War Policy Iraq Attacks Stayed Steady Despite Troop Increase, Data Shows SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "A Day in the Life…", url: "http://www.santamonicadispatch.com/2007/05/a-day-in-the-life/" }); Read More
Yolanda King Collapses, Dies
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and the City of Santa Monica flags flew at half-mast today in memory of Yolanda King who collapsed and died here Tuesday night. She was 51, According to the Associated Press, shortly after she spoke at an American Heart Association meeting, King, the oldest daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., died at the home of her brother, Dexter King, in Santa Monica late Tuesday. She spoke last year at the dedication of the Martin Luther... Read More
THE WORD: Relevant and Irreverent:
An exchange from James L. Brooks’ brilliant 1987 film, Broadcast News, is more relevant today than it was when it was made 20 years ago. The characters: Aaron (played by Albert Brooks) is a first-rate, but expendable TV newsman. Tom (played by William Hurt), whom Aaron refers to, has virtually no experience as a newsman, but is already a network news star simply because he’s good-looking and charming. Both men are interested in Jane (played by Holly Hunter), a talented, driven... Read More
The Village That Isn’t Goes Forward
It’s called “The Village,” but it isn’t a village at all. The misnomer is just part of City Hall’s continuing effort to put small town faces on its big city projects. In fact, “The Village” is 364 apartments in three large buildings that will be clustered around the westerly end of RAND’s behemoth ellipse in the Civic Center. About half of the apartments will be “affordable” rental units, and the other half will be “luxury condominiums.” “The Village”... Read More
Placemaking “Principles” Listed
The state of California’s requirement that cities revise elements in their General Plan every 20 years gives residents an opportunity to reset their municipal compasses in order to preserve their towns’ character and integrity. As the 2005 Santa Monica revision got underway, Planning and Community Development Director Suzanne Frick said it was our Constitution as it would determine Santa Monica’s destiny for a generation. The timing was perfect, as, in the view of an increasing... Read More
Dutton’s: Books vs. Bulldozers
Dutton’s Bookstore in Brentwood is a treasure – not simply a Westside treasure or a Los Angeles treasure but a national treasure. It is invaluable, indispensable, irreplaceable, one of a handful of truly great independent bookstores in America. From the day Doug Dutton opened the store 20-some years ago, it became an integral part of my life and the lives of innumerable other people. Over the years, I have spent more hours in Dutton’s than I can count – looking at the... Read More
