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City Manager Rick Cole: How Santa Monica Can Do More for its Homeless Population.

09/13/2017 2:04 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

We already do a lot in Santa Monica, but obviously the explosion in the regional homeless population (up 23% in one year in LA County) is hitting us with a 26% increase in our annual count here in Santa Monica.

No one pretends we can solve homelessness in 8.3 square miles, but Santa Monica is determined to do everything we can within our borders. As to what's new, we are doing several new things and are working on more:

In July we completed a pilot joint effort between Police Patrol and Human Services to conduct weekly 3 am operations in Palisades Park. Overnight camping there is illegal. But rather than just issuing citations, Police used the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data used by local non-profit homeless service agencies during the interaction to connect homeless individuals to resources that correspond to their needs (housing, employment, mental health services etc.)

New Questions Raised Over Proposed Santa Monica Civic Center Playing Field

09/13/2017 1:52 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

September 13, 2017 -- Less than three months after declaring victory in a long fight with the City to turn the Santa Monica Civic Center parking lot into a playing field, parents said Tuesday they have learned the proposal could be endangered again -– this time by the state Coastal Commission.

At the City Council’s meeting Tuesday, parents said they had just learned the commission put two items on its consent agenda for a meeting Thursday in Cambria which could take the space needed for the sports field.

When is parking a gotcha? By Charles Andrews

09/13/2017 8:59 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

When it’s more valuable as an excuse to take away a long, long-promised playing field from our kids.

I don’t want to point any fingers — yet — but something stinky almost slipped through the cracks only a few know about. And if it turns out to be what it appears to be, then I THINK it’s high time you re-evaluated who your City government is working for. Here’s a clue: it may not be you, dear resident of Santa Monica.

Council asked to hire new position to focus on homelessness

09/12/2017 7:35 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

City Manager Rick Cole is requesting a new, fulltime staff member dedicated to working on the city’s growing homeless problem.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, manager Cole will ask the council to approve more than $320,000 to fund the position through the 2018-19 fiscal year. According to the staff report, the new hire will oversee the City’s comprehensive homeless efforts and work with neighboring communities to implement regional solutions.

City to Reveal If 'Wellbeing' of Santa Monica’s Populace Has Improved

09/12/2017 7:32 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

September 12, 2017 -- Is Santa Monica a happier, or at least more contented, community than it was two years ago?

The City is scheduled to address the issue tonight, and in more detail Wednesday, in an update of a 2015 ground-breaking project that sought to gauge the level of wellbeing among its nearly 94,000 residents as a way of improving services.

Meet YIMBY: Pro-development groups join the battle in California housing wars

09/11/2017 3:30 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

It’s an ageless fight waged in board rooms, council chambers and auditoriums across the state.

Now, there’s a new player in this well-worn battleground: YIMBYs.

These are pro-housing, mostly young urban dwellers willing to say “yes in my backyard” to residential development of all types, including subsidized housing for the poor and for-profit housing for the well-to-do.

OEM gives preparedness tips during National Preparedness Month

09/11/2017 2:46 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Natural disasters are occurring more frequently from the multiple hurricanes to the La Tuna fire in Los Angeles and the City’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) wants the public to recognize September is the official National Preparedness Month.

“We strongly recommend that residents and businesses prepare for an emergency by following four steps: 1) Get a Kit 2) Have a Plan 3) Stay informed and share,” said Barker. “We highly recommend that residents have seven days of disaster supplies in an emergency kit.”

California could be hit by an 8.2 mega-earthquake ...

09/10/2017 9:28 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The magnitude 8.2 earthquake that ravaged southern Mexico on Thursday was the largest to shake the country in nearly a century.

Like California, Mexico is a seismically active region that has seen smaller quakes that have caused death and destruction. But Thursday’s temblor is a reminder that even larger quakes — while rare — do occur.

Scientists say it’s possible for Southern California to be hit by a magnitude 8.2 earthquake. Such a quake would be far more destructive to the Los Angeles area because the San Andreas fault runs very close to and underneath densely populated areas.

Daily Press launching new series on homelessness

09/08/2017 9:15 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Daily Press will publish a series of stories, editorials and columns in the coming weeks focused on homelessness. These stories will include news, features, editorials and columns about the subject and while the focus will be on Santa Monica’s response to the problem, the content will acknowledge this is more than just a local or even regional issue. This is a cultural problem with a multitude of causes and far reaching implications.

We’re starting this week with the factual motivation for the series: the number of people living on local streets is increasing regionally, Santa Monica itself has seen a significant increase this year and residents countywide are making homelessness a priority.

Santa Monica’s Downtown Merchants to Meet with Police on Rising Homelessness Problem

09/06/2017 3:48 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

September 6, 2017 -- Merchants in Santa Monica’s downtown will meet with police and others this month as the community tries to respond to the largest increase in homeless people in a decade, much of the population concentrated downtown and along the beach.

The session between Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. and local police and the City’s Human Services Division on September 19 will detail the ways in which Santa Monica is coping with the 26 percent increase in homeless people this year living on the streets, the beach, in parks and encampments.