After a brief closed door session, the City Council unanimously voted late Tuesday afternoon to hire Berkeley Deputy City Manager David White as Santa Monica's permanent City Manager.

Read More: https://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2021/July-2021/07_22_2021_Council_Taps_Berkeley_Deputy_City_Manager_to_Run_Santa_Monica.html

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2021/07/22/city-council-selects-david-white-as-santa-monica-s-next-city-manager

First, regardless of anything else, and for simplicity sake, all Housing Providers must serve all tenants (regardless of whether they owe rent or not) Doc #2 from the Website.

This will protect you as a HP no matter what. Remember to serve this Doc #2 with the Proof of Service (Key Doc #4). You can mail this or post and mail on tenant’s door.

Second, if tenant owes HP any rent whatsoever from March 1, 2020 through July 31, 2021, then the HP must serve Docs

# 1, 2, 3, 4. These document can all be mailed in one envelope, or can be posted and mailed in one envelope. 

Third, each HP should log into the State’s website “www.Housingiskey.com” and make application for tenants' missed rent payments. The state has promised all HP that they will receive 100% of all rent due from March 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021. You must do this because otherwise you will never see any back rent. 

Do this ON OR BEFORE JULY 31, 2020

Go To the Home Page: https://www.actiontakesaction.com/

The City Council on Thursday could take a significant step toward ending the voting rights lawsuit against the City by allowing Councilmember Oscar de la Torre to participate in determining its fate.

De la Torre, whose wife Maria Loya is the lead plaintiff, placed an item on the special meeting agenda that would reverse the Council's January decision disqualifying him from "participating in or attempting to influence, discussions or decisions relating to this litigation."

Read More: https://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2021/July-2021/07_21_2021_Council_on_Thursday_Could_Take_Step_Towards_Settling_Voting_Rights_Case.html

Four Santa Monica organizations that support the City's position in the voting rights case asked the California Supreme Court on Monday to strike a motion by the plaintiffs to toss their amicus brief.

The request calls the Latino plaintiffs' motion, filed on July 8 by their lead attorney, Kevin Shenkman, "frivolous" and "grounded on baseless speculation" about the groups and their counsel 

Read More: https://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2021/July-2021/07_20_2021_Groups_Supporting_City_Fight_Back_in_Voting_Rights_Case.html

Congressman Ted Lieu has announced that he successfully secured the inclusion of $2 million in funding in the 2022 House Appropriations Bill to support an affordable housing project on the current site of Parking Structure 3 in Downtown Santa Monica. 

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2021/07/19/rep-lieu-secures-2-million-for-affordable-housing-in-santa-monica-to-address-homelessness-in-appropriations-bill

 I have serious questions about who stands to benefit from indiscriminate upzoning of all single-family residential areas.  Basic economic principles based on land values alone suggest that the primary beneficiaries of upzoning will be developers, who will undoubtedly sweep in and redevelop properties, sell at a greater value to more upper middle class professionals, who typically far exceed the area median income (AMI) for the region—all the while accelerating gentrification.  

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2021/07/sma-r-t-column-blind-upzonings-false-promise/

City Hall will consider a new communications campaign to inform renters and landlords about the extended eviction moratorium recently passed in Sacramento as part of a bill known as AB 832.

AB 832 extends the statewide eviction moratorium through September 30 and provides financial relief to struggling tenants and their landlords. Coauthored by Assemblymember Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), AB 832 is an extension of SB 91, also known as the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/council-plans-education-campaign-in-face-of-eviction-tsunami/206751

See Video: https://smmirror.com/2021/07/lasd-to-heighten-patrol-in-effort-to-clear-public-spaces/

Part of AB 150 -- a budget trailer bill -- the California Homeless Hiring Tax Credit is expected to assist some 3,000 individuals and help businesses recover from the coronavirus shutdown.

The new law establishes a tax credit of between $2,500 and $10,000 per qualified homeless individual hired, according to Bloom's office.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2021/July-2021/07_16_2021_Homeless_Hiring_Tax_Credit_Signed_into_Law.html

The Santa Monica City Council approved a pilot "Right to Return" program that gives priority for affordable housing to Black and Latino households displaced by urban renewal projects in the 1950s and 60s.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2021/July-2021/07_14_2021_Measures_to_Address_Historic_Racism_in_Housing_Get_Approval.html

AND

https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2021/07/14/santa-monica-city-council-prioritizes-housing-for-historically-displaced-households-through-new-pilot