The Santa
Monica Lookout, Santa Monica, California -- December 2017
Top News Stories of 2017 December 22, 2017 -- 2017 might well be looked back on as a watershed year for Santa Monica. In the past 12 months, the City forged a plan that will guide Downtown development for the next two decades and sealed a pact to permanently close its century old airport.
Top Cultural Stories of 2017 December 22, 2017 -- In recent years, Santa Monica has lost many of the unique venues that placed the beach city on LA's cultural map -- Vidiots, the Santa Monica Museum, Hennessey + Ingalls. Now, its pier concerts are skrinking, but there are some positive trends.
Frank Gehry Mixed-Use Hotel for Downtown Santa Monica on Front-Burner AgainDecember 22, 2017 -- A controversial hotel/mixed use project designed by Frank Gehry for downtown Santa Monica will be the first of three major projects to re-surface after a long battle over a development plan for the core of the beach city.
Flights at 'Closed' Santa Monica Airport Prompt City Apology and Explanation December 21, 2017 -- Airplanes flying in and out of temporarily-shuttered Santa Monica Airport on Wednesday caused uproar from stunned neighbors, sent a key official scurrying out to find the truth and ended with an apology and an explanation pinning the surprise flights on the FAA.
Dinosaur Sculptures on Santa Monica Promenade to Receive $400,000 Rejuvenation
December 21, 2017 -- Santa Monica’s iconic Dinosaur topiary sculptures and fountains, symbolic guardians of the Third Street Promenade for almost three decades, are showing their age. But unlike the fate of their real prehistoric relatives, the concrete-and-ivy dinosaurs are headed for better days.
U.S. District Court Judge Dismisses Brown Act Lawsuit Challenging Closure of Santa Monica Airport December 19, 2017 -- A U.S. District Court judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit which alleged the surprise consent decree announced almost a year ago to close Santa Monica Airport by 2028 was illegal because the City violated California’s open meetings, or “sunshine,” law, the City announced.
Santa Monica-Malibu School Board Votes to Oppose Malibu Petition for Easier Split December 19, 2017 -- The board of education for Santa Monica-Malibu public schools has voted to oppose a potentially quicker route to separation sought by Malibu, saying City officials there failed to adequately address the fiscal future of the schools that would be left behind.
Santa Monica Begins Work on New City Hall Annex December 19, 2017 -- Visitors may want to wear earplugs when they enter Santa Monica City Hall over the holidays. The City began paving the way for a new City Hall Annex Thursday with a demolition project that will run through January 5, City officials announced last week.
Santa Monica College Ranks First in UC Transfers for 27th Straight Year December 17, 2017 -- Santa Monica College (SMC) led all community colleges in transfers to the University of California (UC) system during the past school year and placed the most black and Latino students in statewide universities, college officials announced last week.
Space Taxis and Brewing Stars Featured at Santa Monica Colleges Drescher Planetarium December 18, 2017 -- A new Space Station taxi shuttle and a bounty of bright stars in the winter sky are among the featured shows at Santa Monica College's Drescher Planetaium next month. On Friday, January 5, the planetarium presents “NASA Commercial Crew Takes Flight.”
Fire Displaces Residents of Santa Monica Condo Complex December 15, 2017 -- A fire that broke out Wednesday afternoon in a six-unit condominium building in Santa Monica's Ocean Park Neighborhood has displaced all of the building's residents, Fire Department officials said.
Nearly Century-Old Sycamore Trees in Santa Monica Win Potential Reprieve from Demolition December 14, 2017 -- Beautiful and unbowed by age, two nearly century-old sycamore trees, entwined over time to look like one as they cast a wide canopy of shade across California Avenue in Santa Monica, received a temporary reprieve from removal on Monday after the City’s Landmarks Commission delayed a recommendation not to grant protection from development.
Santa Monica Nativity Scenes on Display at New Home
December 24, 2017 -- Calvary Baptist Church is hosting Santa Monica's historic life-size nativity scenes that had been a holiday feature at Palisades Park until atheists mounted a campaign that forced their removal in 2011.
Citizen Panel Members Recommend Wage or Hiring Freeze at Santa Monica City Hall December 12, 2017 -- Members of a first-ever citizen advisory panel helping to examine pay and benefits at Santa Monica City Hall -- among the highest for cities in California -- are recommending a freeze of employee compensation or possibly of new hiring.
Santa Claus Visits Santa Monica Airport with 'Naughty and Nice' List December 12, 2017 -- Santa and Mrs. Claus landed at Santa Monica Airport Sunday for a cheery quick pre-Christmas visit, bearing small gifts for those on his “nice” list but a warning for the City Council.
LETTERS -- Santa Monica Airport Hindered Efforts to Fight Skirball Fire While the Skirball fire was out of control on Wednesday morning, as stated on the KTLA news, regular air traffic to and from Santa Monica airport needed to be redirected so that it didn't hinder the efforts to fight the fire from the air.
Hiatus Recommended for Popular 'Twilight' Concert Series on Santa Monica Pier December 11, 2017 -- Santa Monica’s “Twilight Concerts on the Pier” might be put on hiatus next year as City officials scramble to deal with an overwhelming increases in crowds, costs for policing and the clean-up of tons of post-party trash.
Picture of Actor Dustin Hoffman Gains New Context Amid Allegations of Harassment December 11, 2017 -- A picture of Dustin Hoffman taken in Santa Monica more than a decade ago gained a new context amid recent allegations of sexual harassment leveled against the Academy-award-winning actor. The picture published in The Lookout was taken during a 2005 ceremonial groundbreaking for Santa Monica College's Madison Campus.
Fire Breaks out at Santa Monica's Huntley Hotel December 11, 2017 -- The Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica was evacuated Saturday evening as firefighters extinguished a blaze that broke out on the top floor of the high-rise building downtown, Fire Department officials said.
Public Schools, Outdoor Facilities in Santa Monica Re-Open but Smoke Advisory Continues December 8, 2017 -- Santa Monica’s public schools reopened Friday -- although their counterparts in Malibu remained closed -- as authorities and the public waited see if the capricious Santa Ana winds would blast the air with more smoke and ash from outside wildfires.
Santa Monica Joins Los Angeles Community Choice Energy December 8, 2017 -- The City Council on Tuesday voted to join Los Angeles Community Choice Energy (LACCE), a move City officials say will shift all Santa Monica electricity customers to competitive electricity and help boost similar efforts in the region.
Schools Cancel Classes, Outdoor Activities Curtailed as Smokey Skies Persist in Santa Monica December 7, 2017 -- Local public schools canceled classes, and outdoor activities, including downtown's popular holiday ice-skating rink, were out of commission Wednesday as the seaside city's populace struggled a second day under a choking plume of smoke and ash from fires raging throughout Southern California.
Wildfires Could Impact Air Quality Study at Santa Monica Airport December 7, 2017 -- Amid the poorest air quality in decades as fires rage around Santa Monica, City officials are determining the status of a pollution study that was set to commence at its municipal airport this week.
Santa Monica's Miramar Hotel Hosts Holiday Community Gathering Sunday December 6, 2017 -- On Sunday, hundreds of Santa Monicans are expected to once again gather under the Miramar Hotel's iconic fig tree to kick off the holiday season and help the beach city's less fortunate.
Controversy Over Childcare Center in Pico Neighborhood Goes to Santa Monica City Council December 5, 2017 -- Families living a small “oasis of calm” in booming Santa Monica are asking the City Council tonight to stop a 20-student preschool from moving into a home in their single-family neighborhood, saying it sets a precedent of commercial encroachment.(Item delayed to January 23)
Man Arrested for Attempted Murder on Santa Monica Pier December 5, 2017 -- A driver left a man injured and damaged Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.'s restaurant on the Santa Monica Pier after an early morning altercation Monday, according to police.
'Text-to-911' Service Starts in Santa Monica December 5, 2017 – Call if you can. But if you can’t dial 911 in an emergency, Los Angeles County -- including Santa Monica -- has launched a service allowing 911 texts instead.
Santa Monica College Opens New Media Campus, KCRW Center December 4, 2017 -- Some 600 guests gathered Saturday for the grand opening of Santa Monica College's (SMC) new $115-million media campus that houses the school's media and design programs and serves as the new headquarters for KCRW.
Tufts University Selected for Air Quality Study at Santa Monica Airport December 4, 2017 – Tufts University begins mobilizing to test air quality at Santa Monica Airport today, a response by the City to long-standing complaints from neighboring residents about the health impacts of air traffic, particularly from jets.
Santa Monica Area Lawmakers Announce PCH Safety Grant December 1, 2017 -- Santa Monica-area lawmakers announced Wednesday they had secured a grant to enhance safety on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), one the most scenic -– yet increasingly deadly -- thoroughfares in California.
