The Supreme Court wrestled with major questions about the growing issue of homelessness on Monday as it considered whether cities can punish people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking. The case is the most significant to come before the high court in decades on the issue and comes as record numbers of people are without a permanent place to live in the United States. It started in the rural Oregon town of Grants Pass, which began fining people $295 for sleeping outside as the cost of housing escalated and tents sprung up in the city’s public parks. The town appealed to the high ..read more

A $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction, officials said Monday, amid predictions that millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028. “People have been dreaming of high-speed rail in America for decades,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement released to coincide with a ceremony at the future site of a terminal to be built just south of the Las Vegas Strip. Buttigieg predicted the project will bring “thousands of union jobs, new connections to better economic opportunity, less congesti ..read more

In advance of Monday’s Earth Day celebration, students and faculty of Will Rogers Learning Community had a green-thumbed party of their own, hosting an Earth Day Festival at the campus’ regenerative farm. Students were able to engage in activities around the farm, such as an interactive storytime and being able to traverse the multitude of plantlife cultivated at Will Rogers. In addition, student projects were available to view on environment-related subjects, with information laid out in creative fashion on posterboard. Representatives promoting the documentary “Feeding Tomorrow ..read more

Among the items scheduled for discussion at Council this week are the development of rules for adult-use cannabis establishments, a policy to use low-carbon concrete in construction projects, updates to zoning rules and a host of requests for funding special projects. Cannabis The City Council previously directed staff to prepare an ordinance allowing adult-use cannabis businesses, along with creating a process for two medicinal cannabis retailers to sell adult-use cannabis. They emphasized the inclusion of a social equity component to benefit communities most affected by cannabis enforcement ..read more

The number of students within Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) gaining crucial skills and knowledge for future career paths has grown exponentially, according to an update given to the SMMUSD Board of Education on April 18. During the board meeting, SMMUSD Coordinator of Learning and Innovation Dr. Devon Smith gave a presentation on the district’s project-based learning initiative and the latest news on Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways on school sites like Samohi. The CTE implementation, a priority for the district during the 2023-24 school year, has led to a bevy ..read more

New exhibit salutes Chicano culture, communityThe Chicano art movement has represented both the struggle and success of Mexican-American artists since the 1960s, and the Mecca of Chicano art now has a home at the California Heritage Museum with the “Arte Chicano Hecho En Los Angeles” exhibit. Put together by guest curator Pablo De La Rosa, the exhibit is a tribute to both the well-known and burgeoning artists representing Santa Monica and beyond. Artwork highlights popular Chicano culture like luchadors and classic cars, as well as the resourcefulness of Chicano artists ranging from the legen ..read more

On Thursday, April 18 The City of Santa Monica cleared about a dozen homeless squatters from a piece of city owned property on the 1600 block of 5th Street. SMPD officers first responded to the building last week and found ten people living in what used to be an office building. The property has been vacant for more than a decade and is considered surplus land by the City. After removing the first group, city contractors returned to the property on April 18 to begin cleanup and another two homeless individuals were found in the property. The post Crime Watch appeared first on Santa Monica Dai ..read more

Small business owners, community leaders and elected officials gathered in front of the Culver City Music Center Washington Blvd on Thursday morning, to announce that over 900,000 signatures had been collected for the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act (Initiative 23-0017A1) to qualify for the November General Election ballot. Culver City Music Center was chosen as it’s the location of Vice Mayor Lana Negrete’s sister store to her Santa Monica Music Center on Santa Monica Blvd and tragically, both stores have been victim to multiple break ins and organized burglaries over t ..read more

A 9-foot-tall dark granite obelisk on the corner of Venice Blvd and Lincoln Blvd raises similarities to one of America’s darkest hours, forever etching that time into the area’s history. That object, the Venice Japanese American Memorial Monument (VJAMM), marks the spot where more than a thousand people of Japanese ancestry were transported directly to the American concentration camp at Manzanar in eastern California, with many remaining incarcerated for over three years. As the monument’s committee hosted the seventh annual commemoration of the structure, the gathered crowd of VJAMM particip ..read more

A Metro bus driver was attacked on the 1600 block of 5th Street early Thursday morning resulting in minor injuries and the arrest of the suspect.  According to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD), the bus driver was inside the out-of-service vehicle at about 1:41am when the suspect approached the bus and demanded entry.  The driver did not open the door prompting the suspect to begin attacking the actual vehicle. According to LASD, the suspect eventually kicked the door hard enough to shatter the glass, prompting the driver to exit the vehicle. At that point, the suspect att ..read more