"After weeks of public input about improving our initial ordinance against ‘corporate rentals,’ we added reasonable exemptions for homeowners, Accessory Dwelling Units, displaced tenants, and students,” said Mayor Kevin McKeown.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2020/October-2020/10_15_2020_City_Council_Amends_New_Rental_Housing_Law.html

Two years ago, I wrote on these pages that Santa Monica was at a breaking point when it came to crime and safety ("OPINION -- Will The City Council Get Serious About Crime?" November 5, 2018).

Now, after months of watching our City Council drag its feet on these same concerns, I can see what we faced in 2018 was only the beginning.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2020/10_15_2020_OPINION_City_Council_Turns_a_Blind_Eye_on_Crime_and_Homelessness.html

A leading Santa Monica slow-growth group on Wednesday endorsed Oscar de la Torre for City Council hours after he issued a blistering attack on the proposed Plaza project Downtown.

Read More: http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2020/October-2020/10_14_2020_Council_Challenger_Wins_Coalition_Endorsement.html

Voting for all four on the slate is essential as one city council member alone can not outvote those already on the 7-member council

Read More: https://www.smobserved.com/story/2020/10/14/news/why-vote-for-the-slate-of-4-for-santa-monica-city-council/4974.html

Revisions to Santa Monica’s recently adopted leasing requirements were passed by City Councilmembers this week, allowing local homeowners to rent their homes for less than a year as long as they meet certain criteria.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/leasing-revisions-pass-unanimously/197488

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2020/10/12/city-council-approves-amendments-to-leasing-requirements

Santa Monica Rents Decline 10.3% in 6 Months Since the Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdown Began

"A recent study found that over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, California cities experienced some of the greatest drops in rent prices in the nation," wrote Emily Leff, a spokesman for Insurify, in a press release.

"Between March and September of 2020, Santa Monica's rents decreased by 10.3% (it is 15th on the list of 20 cities with the greatest rent reductions during the pandemic). As of September 2020, the average cost of rent for a 2-Bedroom unit in Santa Monica is $2,432. The year over year change in rent (from 2019-2020) is -11.1%," she writes.

Read More: https://www.smobserved.com/story/2020/10/15/news/santa-monica-rents-decline-103-in-6-months-since-the-covid-19-pandemic-lockdown-began/4975.html

Beginning in 2010, after the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United decided corporations and unions could raise and spend unlimited money, in elections, Political Action Committees (PACs) have dominated spending in national and local elections.

In Santa Monica, PACs have spent between $160,000 and $458,000 to re-elect City Council incumbents in every election over the past ten years.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2020/10_14_2020_Will_Special_Interest_PACs_Get_Incumbents_Re_Elected.html

Along with the alarming issues on the California State ballot there are a few alarming issues to be decided at the city and county level. In addition, you must choose who you want to run various local institutions and think hard about the environment that has been provided by incumbents. 

Read More: https://www.smobserved.com/story/2020/10/14/news/how-to-vote-on-our-local-santa-monica-issues-if-you-want-to-climb-out-of-the-toilet-were-in/4971.html

At its meeting on October 8, 2020, the Santa Monica Rent Control Board amended Chapter 16 of the Board regulations, respecting the withdrawal of accommodations from the rental market, to bring those regulations into conformity with recent changes to the state law Ellis Act, made by the 2019 Assembly Bill (AB) 1399, which became effective on January 1, 2020.

Read More on pg. 5: https://s3.amazonaws.com/smdp_backissues/101320.pdf

Three years ago, the city of Santa Monica completed a peak-hour bus-only lane that stretched along the Lincoln corridor — and since the project’s completion, Santa Monica has requested that the City of Los Angeles study a continuation of the southbound peak-hour bus-only lane on weekdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Los Angeles Department of Transportation officials recently said. The proposed upgrades have been dubbed the “Lincoln Fast Forward” project and the project area consists of a 1.1-mile segment of Lincoln Boulevard.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/community-input-on-prospective-lincoln-improvements-wanted/197423