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Police Commission seeking youth and diversity
Apr. 17, 2021 at 6:00 am
Council is mounting a last ditch effort to recruit young and racially diverse residents for the soon to be formed Public Safety Reform Oversight Commission (PSROC).
Appointments to the PSROC were scheduled for discussion at the April 13 council meeting but the decision was continued after council members said the applicant pool wasn’t deep enough to meet the needs of the organization.
The PSROC was developed in response to the broader push for police reform at a national level and specific concerns about Santa Monica’s police department following the May 31 protests and riot. The group will review and make recommendations on a variety of public safety topics including use of force, public outreach, transparency and budget. The 11-member group will serve staggered four years terms and meet at least once a month.
Noteworthy – WE ARE AN ARTS CITY!
Apr. 15, 2021 at 9:00 am
TALK IS CHEAP
When it is convenient, and when we want to puff up our collective ego, we brag about the arts in Santa Monica. We are such an art community. We are all in for the arts.
Except we’re not, really, are we? When it comes right down to it. Our money’s too often not where our mouth is, on important stuff. Tuesday night our City Council did the right thing, for arts and Pier businesses on city land, who pay rent to the city, who have been devastated by the closings brought about by the pandemic. Most have had zero income for more than a year and don’t know at this point when that will end.
Council vetos improvised weapons ban
Apr. 15, 2021 at 6:00 am
Council has rejected a proposal to ban items from public gatherings that could become weapons if a peaceful protest became violent.
The proposal would have banned otherwise legal items from protests including sticks/poles larger than three inches in diameter, any length of metal pipe, all baseball bats, any aerosol spray (including tear gas, mace, pepper spray, smoke canisters or bear repellent), slingshots, catapults, chains longer than 20 inches, all blades, martial arts weapons, containers of noxious liquid, all glass bottles, open flames, shields, bricks or laser pointers.
“There are items that people can have ordinarily in the course and scope of their lives that are fine to have but within the context of showing up in a protest, you have to ask how is that contributing to the expressive conduct,” said Interim Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks. “If we want to promote peaceful protest, and we want to encourage const
City Council Continues Housing Element Process
Apr. 05, 2021 at 6:00 am
A divided city council advanced plans for the City’s housing element last week after discussions about meeting state mandates expanded to cover possible solutions to questions of historic racial injustice.
Santa Monica must pass a housing element update that accounts for mandates to increase the city’s housing stock by about 9,000 units. The discussion last week centered on options for densifying existing neighborhoods as a way to acknowledge the impact past discriminatory practices have had on housing development.
“At the beginning of tonight’s meeting, from Planning Commissioner Nina Fresco, we saw a very comprehensive presentation about the history of zoning and exclusion in the City of Santa Monica. And I don’t want anybody who lives here now to be taking it personal, but the truth is if you live in an exclusive neighborhood, you have to look at the history and think about who got excluded,” C