Hollywood’s Back on the Beach
Hollywood will bring its red carpet back to the beach Saturday for the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards. As in previous years, a tent has been set up on the beach off Barnard Way in Ocean Park. And this year, for the first time, the red carpet show can be seen in a live webcast on www.ifc.com, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The live telecast of the awards ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. on IFC (channel 296 in Santa Monica) with Rainn Wilson, co-star of “The Office” presiding. It... Read More
Trees: Residents YES, City NO :
Santa Monica residents have rarely been in better form than they were at last night s City Council meeting when they spoke on behalf of the 50-plus ficus trees the City wants to remove from downtown streets. Unfortunately, the Council has rarely been in worse form. There were dozens of residents, they ranged from students to older people, and they were uniformly passionate about the beauty and utility of the trees, and the multiple roles they play in downtown Santa Monica –... Read More
Protest at City Hall This Afternoon
Everyone who opposes the City’s nitwit decision to, in its word, “improve” downtown Santa Monica by removing 50-plus ficus trees should gather on the City Hall lawn this afternoon. Called by Treesavers, a residents’ group that’s been fighting the removal for months, a protest is scheduled from 5 to 6, preceding the City Council meeting. (for more details on the controversy, see the following story) SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Protest at City Hall This Afternoon",... Read More
Trees Finally on Council Agenda
At Tuesday night’s special City Council meeting. in addition to the initial discussion of the next fiscal year’s budget, the Council will hear appeals of the Landmarks Commission’s denial of Treesavers’ request that the trees on Second and Fourth Streets in downtown Santa Monica be designated a landmark. Anyone who thinks the great tree debate is about trees has not been paying ttention. This is not to say that Treesavers, the residents’ group that was founded to... Read More
Council Has Bumpy Night
Tuesday night’s City Council meeting was more notable for Council members’ behavior than for their decisions. To borrow a phrase from Joe Mankiewicz’s brilliant “All About Eve,” it was a very “bumpy night.” Councilman Ken Genser got the meeting off to a fractious start by challenging City staff’s recommendation that the City spend $1,1 million on new trash and recycling containers. Genser believed the large purchase was at best premature. City Manager Lamont... Read More
L.A. Times Too Big for L.A.
The latest editor o f the Los Angeles Times, Russ Stanton, was bumped up from “innovation editor” over the protests of some staff writers, according to LAObserved.com. No wonder. During his opening remarks to the staff, he claimed that former subscribers’ chief complaint was that the paper was so large, so packed with features that they were overwhelmed by it. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "L.A. Times Too Big for L.A.", url: "http://www.santamonicadispatch.com/2008/02/la-times-too-big-for-la/"... Read More
Meeting on 1550 Beach Lot Events
The City has scheduled a community meeting on appropriate uses for the 1550 beach parking lot that’s adjacent to the Santa Monica Pier. The ,meeting will be held on Thursday, February 28, at 7 p.m. at the Ken Edwards Center City staff is seeking community opinions, concerns and ideas” on policies related to the use” of the 1550 lot for “extended run cultural events” Such events, in staff’s words, “if managed properly and held in the off-season, are an excellent... Read More
Whither the Weather 2.16 – 2.21
By AvaTramer Beaches Partly cloudy Highs: 61-69; Lows: 44-51 Inland Mostly sunny Highs: 62-73; Lows: 37-46 Deserts Warm and mostly sunny Highs: 65-80; Lows: 46-54 And Santa Monica… The sun is out, with an occasional cloud, No lightning bright or thunder loud. The sky is blue, sometimes gray, The weather is mild day after day. We might get some showers, a drop or two, But on the whole, the sky is blue. The nights are cool, the days are warm, It would be surprising to have a... Read More
Which Way Is L.A.?
According to the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has resurrected plans to make Pico and Olympic Boulevards one-way throughways, over the objections of two L.A. City Council members, many residents and people who own businesses on the two streets. Specifically, the mayor has ordered transportation officials to make Pico largely one-way east and Olympic largely one-way west. Parking on both streets would be banned during rush hours, beginning March 8,... Read More
Promenade Is Realtors’ Dream Machine
According to a recent story in the New York Times, “Jan Sweetnam, the West Coast asset manager for Federal Realty Investment Trust, a REIT based in Rockville, Md., that owns most of the buildings on the two northernmost blocks of the Promenade, said annual rents were $20 to $25 a square foot in 1996 and have climbed to $220 a square foot now. ‘We have people looking at spaces for 2010 and 2011,’ he said.” In this light, the current discussions to determine who will “manage”... Read More
