Whither the Weather 1/18- 1/24

Tweet By Ava Tramer Beaches Cooler with a chance of showers Highs: 55-65; Lows: 42-46 Inland Partly cloudy Highs: 55-68; Lows: 33-40 Deserts Mostly sunny Highs: 56-68; Lows: 42-46 And Santa Monica… They said it was California and the weather’d be fair, But somehow I still felt a chill in the air. I saw the sun hanging high up in the sky, But I found myself wishing I had a parka nearby. And then clouds rolled in, covering the sky in grey, And before I knew it, it was a rainy... Read More

Just in Time — RIFT

Tweet The Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City (SMCLC) was formed in 2004, in its words, “ensure that those of us who call Santa Monica our home have meaningful input into the development decisions that affect our lives.” To that end, SMCLC will soon begin collecting signatures from Santa Monica residents in order to place “The Residents’ Initiative to Fight Traffic” (RIFT) on the November ballot. The requisite documents were filed with the Santa Monica... Read More

Trees Fail Landmarks Test

Tweet Though Landmarks Commissioners praised Treesavers’ efforts to preserve 50-some ficus trees on Second and Fourth Streets in downtown Santa Monica, they voted 6-1 at their Monday night meeting to deny Treesavers’ application for the trees’ designation as landmarks, Commission chair Nina Fresco explained that the trees simply do not qualify under The landmark criteria. The removal of the trees is part of an $8 million downtown “improvement” plan developed... Read More

Small Plane Runs Out of Runway

Tweet Zina Josephs, President of the Friends of Sunset Park, reports that Sunday, January 13, at about 5 p.m., Santa Monica Tower personnel notified the Airport Services Officer (ASO) on duty that a piston powered aircraft had gone off the west end of the Santa Monica Airport runway on landing. The ASO responded and found that a single-engine four-seat “Jabiru” kit aircraft had rolled down the west slope and had come to rest on the lower west service road. There was no... Read More

City Council Eases Into New Year

Tweet The first City Council meeting of 2008 on Tuesday night began with a mini-concert that featured some of the talented Samohi musicians. Of the pieces they played, the most apropos was a classic Rodgers and Hart tune, “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” for it rather neatly sums up the state of things in Santa Monica here and now. Aside from the students’ appearance, there was nothing compelling on the meeting agenda. None of the key issues was addressed, suggesting... Read More

New State Budget Is Brutal

Tweet California’s economy is the seventh richest in the world, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s draconian 2008-2009 budget calls for 10 percent across-the-board cuts that inevitably hit the most vulnerable among us the hardest Among other things, services to the poor will be slashed, some state parks will be closed, including both Will Rogers and Topanga in this area, thousands of “non-violent” inmates in state prisons will be released, public transit funding will... Read More

Whither the Weather 1/11 – 1/17

Tweet By Ava Tramer Beaches Mostly sunny Highs: 62-71; Lows: 45-51 Inland Clear with occasional clouds Highs: 64-71; Lows: 38-42 Deserts Clear and sunny Highs: 65-73; Lows: 44-49 And Santa Monica… The storm has passed, the sun is out, Next week will be dry, without a doubt. Come the weekend, temperatures will be warm, There might be some clouds, but nary a storm. Next week will dawn all sunny and bright, But it will be cool out, ‘specially at night. So even though things’ll... Read More

A Response: Clarifying and Amplifying

Tweet Regarding Peggy Clifford’s article (see below) on various issues concerning Sunset Park, here are a few comments: S.M. Airport — It’s true that there has been a tremendous increase in jet traffic at Santa Monica Airport (up to 18,000 landings and takeoffs per year) and that the planes “roar off the runway and over Sunset Park houses, raising air and noise pollution, as well as residents’ hackles, to new heights.” However, we don’t agree... Read More

Sunset Park Under Siege

Tweet Sunset Park is one of the most attractive residential neighborhoods in Santa Monica. Situated on a gentle slope in the southeast quadrant, it literally overlooks the rest of the city. Most of its streets are tree-lined and its mix of houses, vintage garden apartments and modern condominiums is entirely congenial. But this serene neighborhood has been under assault for some time and it’s troubles are getting worse, not better. and, ironically, the chief trouble-makers... Read More

Correction

Tweet “The State of the City 2008” meeting is on Tuesday, January 15, not January 12, as reported in the story below. We either misread the announcement, or mistyped the number. In either case, the error was inexcusable, and we apologize to our readers and the event sponsors. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Correction", url: "http://www.santamonicadispatch.com/2008/01/correction-2/" }); Read More