Pedestrian fatally struck by vehicle on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu
See Page 7
Prominent Volunteer in Palisades’ Wildfire Rebuild Commits Suicide at 60
In a public statement, Traci Park said Vein “brought people together, lifted others up, and helped guide the Palisades through its hardest days,”
Community members and local officials are mourning the death of Larry Vein, a prominent volunteer who emerged as a key grassroots organizer following the recent wildfire that devastated parts of Pacific Palisades.
According to a statement shared on social media by a local community account, Vein died by suicide on April 27. He was widely known for his efforts to support residents in the aftermath of the fire, including cofounding the community initiative Pali
Strong.
In a public statement, Traci Park said Vein “brought people together, lifted others up, and helped guide the Palisades through its hardest days,” adding that his leadership and commitment to the community would not be forgotten.
Residents said Vein became a central figure in recovery efforts almost immediately after the fire, sharing updates through social media platforms and connecting residents with resources at a time when official information was limited. He also organized support efforts for first responders and volunteers, including distributing food and coordinating gatherings for those assisting in recovery operations.
Vein later received a grant from FireAid intended to support the creation of a community resource hub for Palisades residents. According to accounts from community members, the funding and its restrictions became a source of public scrutiny and controversy, drawing criticism and, at times, personal attacks on social media.
Supporters also noted that he faced personal challenges, including a custody dispute, during the same period.
Messages posted online in the days following his death highlighted the impact of his work. One tribute described him as “a kind and friendly soul” whose efforts had been “very helpful and encouraging to everyone.”
Vein had been part of the Pacific Palisades community since the early 1990s, according to the Pali Strong website, which describes the group as committed to supporting local residents and fostering resilience.
K-12 Students’ Artwork Honored with ‘Sustainable Santa Monica Student Poster Contest’
16 winners were selected across four grade categories, with entries emphasizing solutions such as zero-emission transit, biking, electric vehicles and clean energy
City officials and a local nonprofit have announced the winners of the 18th annual
Sustainable Santa Monica Student Poster Contest, highlighting student perspectives on climate action and community resilience.
The contest, organized by the city and Sustainable Works, invited kindergarten through 12th grade students who live or attend school in Santa Monica to submit artwork centered on this year’s theme, “Reducing Emissions While Creating Resilient Communities.”
A total of 16 winners were selected across four grade categories, with entries emphasizing solutions such as zeroemission transit, biking, electric vehicles and clean energy.
“As one of the first cities in the nation to create a Sustainable City Plan, Santa Monica is deeply committed to doing our part for the planet while caring for our community,” said Ariana Vito, a senior sustainability analyst with the city. She added that this year’s submissions
demonstrated a strong understanding of both climate challenges and potential solutions.
Organizers said the program reached more than 650 students through dozens of classroom and after-school presentations, generating about 400 poster submissions. Judges included representatives from the city and Sustainable Works.
Grand prize winners included Phoebe Kaiser of Grant Elementary School (K–2), Daenerys Smith of Grant Elementary
All winners will be recognized at a ceremony May 13 at the Annenberg Community Beach House. Winning posters are currently on display at the Santa Monica Main Library through May 8 and will also be featured at the awards event, which is open to the public.
School (3–5), Eloise Alexopoulos of John Adams Middle School (6–8) and Mia Patricio-Ramirez of Santa Monica High School (9–12).
Legendary Rock Drummer Stewart Copeland to Perform at Inaugural Santa Monica Jazz Festival
Copeland, best known as the drummer for The Police, will perform on May 9 during the festival’s main ticketed event at Tongva Park
Stewart Copeland is set to be featured in the inaugural Santa Monica International Jazz Festival, joining a lineup of prominent artists as the coastal city launches a new large-scale cultural event.
The festival, scheduled for May 1–9, will take place across multiple venues including Tongva Park, Third Street Promenade and BroadStage. It is part of a broader summer programming push aimed at boosting tourism and economic activity.
Copeland, best known as the drummer for The Police, will perform on May 9 during the festival’s main ticketed event at Tongva Park. He is scheduled to appear as
part of “Stanley Clarke & Friends,” led by acclaimed bassist Stanley Clarke.
The May 9 concert will also feature performances by Kamasi Washington, Miles Electric Band and KNOWER,
among others. Organizers say the event will include food and beverage offerings and is expected to draw large crowds.
The festival begins with a free public concert on May 3 at Third Street
Promenade, followed by additional performances at BroadStage, including a May 8 tribute to John Coltrane featuring several noted jazz musicians.
Get Into the Weeds With Us
SM a.r.t.
Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow
Walk down Ocean Park Boulevard, and you can feel something coming. Development signs announce seven- and eight-story buildings that will tower over local shops and restaurants. Almost 1,000 mostly luxury units. Across Santa Monica, neighbors who love their “Neighborhood Commercial” streets are wondering: Could this be coming to my neighborhood? To Main Street? Pico? Montana Avenue?
If you aren't, you should be. Because it can. And it is. A quick check of the City’s development projects shows multiple 8-story buildings across the city, an 11-story on Broadway, and even a 23-story on 7th Street. 23 stories! So much for ’nothing taller than the clock tower.’
How did we get here, and more importantly, what can be done before it’s too late? It’s a long and winding road, but if we want a say in any of this, we need to understand the details.
It is tempting and easy to frame this issue as a NIMBY vs YIMBY question. Some of the key participants are counting on the public to do so. But that framing is inaccurate and polarizing. California's housing affordability crisis is real. Most people are open to new development if it's thoughtful, respects neighborhood scale, and (most importantly) produces truly affordable housing. Understanding what's actually happening in Santa Monica requires knowing the data, the history, and the politics.
So let’s get into the weeds. Together. THE FOUR-LETTER WORD YOU’VE NEVER HEARD: RHNA
Every eight years, California’s Dept of Housing and Community Development (“HCD”) tells each region how many new housing units it must plan for in the next eight years. The regional authority (in our case, the Southern California Association of Governments, or “SCAG”) then mandates how many units each city must plan for. Not build. Plan for.
This process is called the Regional Housing Needs Allocation, or RHNA (pronounced "Ree-nah").
Our RHNA number in 2012 (the previous cycle) was 1,674. Then in 2021, Santa Monica was suddenly allocated 8,895 units.
It's hard to convey how massive that number is. Santa Monica's existing housing stock is roughly 53,000 units, built over more than a century. The state asked us to plan for the equivalent of one-sixth of our entire housing stock in eight years. In a city that is 8.3 square miles and essentially built out. And the real number is bigger still: a huge share of those units, nearly 6,200, must be “deed-restricted affordable” (housing units legally required by deed to be rented or sold below market to incomequalified households). Because developers typically build only one affordable unit
for every six market-rate ones, hitting our 6,200 affordable target would require roughly 37,000 total units. Let that sink in.
The day the numbers dropped, veterans of multiple RHNA cycles thought 8,895 was a joke. Sadly, it wasn't. How did we arrive there?
A NEW RHNA METHODOLOGY FROM MONEYED LOBBYISTS
In 2018, a new law authored by State Senator Scott Wiener changed the rules of how RHNA numbers would be allocated. HCD was now required to factor in what the state characterized as decades of underbuilding, a sweeping reframe that dramatically inflated the numbers. The final number of units for Southern California to absorb: 1.34 million. More than triple the previous cycle. Wiener's 2020 reelection campaign was roughly 30% funded by the real estate lobby, according to Capitol Weekly.
Given the new numbers, you might expect Santa Monica's share would roughly triple from last cycle’s allocation. Ours went far beyond triple. From 1,674 to 8,895. How did this happen?
SCAG used to rely on each city's own growth projections. Cities knew their land, their infrastructure, their capacity. This time, as SCAG developed its distribution methodology under the new state rules, lobbying organizations like Abundant Housing LA – a self-described YIMBY group that does not disclose all of its funding sources – got a seat at the table, with representatives participating directly in methodology discussions. The group pushed for an allocation based on a new formula. Under it, communities with acres of vacant land got proportionally lower RHNA allocations. Cities with proximity to jobs and transit got more.
Santa Monica – with the Expo Line, a large employment base, and, perhaps not coincidentally, some of the most valuable land in California to develop – bore a dramatically outsized share.
This goes far beyond "shared responsibility.”
THE CITY MAKES A “HOUSING ELEMENT”
After everyone’s jaws dropped at that impossible assignment of 8,895 new units in eight years, Santa Monica got to
work. State law requires cities to make a plan (called the Housing Element) that shows how zoning will be changed to accommodate the assigned RHNA numbers. Santa Monica designed its Housing Element around the 8,895 number, but in early 2022, HCD rejected it. Organizations like Abundant Housing LA were actively monitoring cities' Housing Elements and pressuring HCD to reject plans they considered insufficient –a role Scott Wiener's law had essentially empowered them to play. Even though the city had shown capacity for the full 8,895, HCD insisted it needed even more. A “buffer” in case some sites turned out to be harder to develop. 4,000 more units. Where, in a desperate pinch, do you find capacity for that kind of density in a city that's already built out? Enter our Neighborhood Commercial streets: previously zoned for two- and three-story buildings, and never designed to absorb massive growth.
Ocean Park Boulevard. Montana. Pico. Main. All suddenly bumped to 55 feet. If only that were the end.
THEN NEW STATE DENSITY BONUSES STACK ON TOP
Over the next few years, Sacramento passed a series of 'density bonus' laws.
In exchange for a handful of deedrestricted affordable units, developers could build well beyond the new zoning. Streets capped at 55 feet were suddenly cleared for 85. Even though Santa Monica’s plan for taking on unprecedented density had been approved, the legislature said: even more.
Two stories on Neighborhood Commercial became seven to eight.
And with that, we aren't just losing our skyline. We're losing the chance to build actual low-income housing. The density bonus law gives developers far more than it asks in return – and the handful of affordable units they produce barely dents the crisis the State says justifies it.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: ADVOCATE FOR BETTER METHODOLOGY
While Abundant Housing was invited to the table for the last RHNA cycle, the rest of us didn't even know there was a table. 18 million people were affected by the last methodology process. Only 250 public comments were submitted.
The 7th cycle methodology development is already underway. YIMBY California and YIMBY Law are already at the table, listed as official participants. Abundant Housing LA will no doubt be there soon if they aren’t already. Residents and neighborhood organizations who want thoughtful development must claim seats, too. Sign up to be notified about SCAG hearings and show up or send in comments. Email our SCAG representative on Council, Ellis Raskin (Ellis.Raskin@ santamonica.gov). Ask him to fight for a methodology that accounts for all the state laws that have upzoned so much of our city in the last four years and already added tremendous housing capacity (SB79 alone, passed just last year, opened the door to over 200,000 units, per our Planning Department’s figures). Ask him to demand our RHNA account for realistic funding availability for directly building deed-restricted affordable units, or that the State fund its own mandate. Ask him for a methodology that accounts for our active earthquake fault lines, fire hazard zones, and sensitive coastal environment here that warrant reduced density.
Or eight-story buildings on Ocean Park Blvd, Montana, Pico, and Main will only be the beginning.
Get into the weeds. Before the next cycle is decided without us.
Heather Thomason for SMa.r.t.: Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow:
Dan Jansenson, Architect, (ex-Building & Fire-Life Safety Commissioner); Robert H.Taylor, Architect, AIA; Thane Roberts, Architect; Mario Fonda-Bonardi, Architect, AIA (ex-Planning Commissioner)Sam Tolkin, Architect, (ex-Planning Commissioner) Michael Jolly ARE-CRE; Jack Hillbrand, AIA, Landmarks Commissioner, Architect; Phil Brock (ex-mayor, retired); Matt Hoefler, Architect NCARB; Heather Thomason, Community Organizer: Charles Andrews, Journalist/ Columnist: Bruce Leddy, Human Services Commissioner/NOMA Co-Chair
Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff purchase $8.15 million Malibu estate
The former Vice President owns a home in the exclusive Point Dume neighborhood
Former Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, have added to their Southern California real estate holdings with the $8.15 million purchase of a secluded estate in the exclusive Point Dume enclave, as reported by Page Six and Politico.
The 4,000-square-foot residence features four bedrooms and six bathrooms, offering the couple a high-security retreat in a neighborhood increasingly dominated by both Hollywood elite and Silicon Valley billionaires. The mansion sits atop a 63acre promontory overlooking the private beaches of Little Dume.
The sale was private and off-market, and there has been no indication of the couple selling their Brentwood property.
Built in 1979 and situated on a threequarter-acre lot, the mansion features California coastal architecture. The main living space utilizes high wood-beamed
ceilings and large windows to emphasize natural light, complemented by modern amenities including a built-in speaker system and a gas fireplace.
The acquisition provides the couple with a "key-access" privilege to Little Dume beach, a highly restricted coastal stretch known for its premier surf breaks and extreme privacy. This level of exclusivity has long drawn high-profile residents such as Julia Roberts and Sean Penn, as well as tech billionaires Marc Andreessen and Sergey Brin.
Keep our beaches clean. Don’t put used oil and oil filters in the trash.
Curious City 05/08/26: HUMANS NO LONGER WORTH A NICKEL
By CHARLES ANDREWS
NOW,
THAT’S JUST SILLY
With all that’s going on in the world, you’re going to use this precious space to complain about… sports on TV? (Hang with me on this.) That was my first thought, too. But then I considered the bigger picture, the patterns, the connections.
I am a one-sport guy. Saves me a lot of time throughout the year. No long baseball season, no endless soccer tourneys, certainly no macho-military-head injurious American football. If I want long bombs, blitzes, trenches, and field generals, I’ll tune in to the latest Pete Hegseth buffoonery.
Basketball. Hoops. It’s elegant, almost balletic, extreme athleticism, strength and quickness, split-second strategy changes, mid-air adjustments, five-on-five weaving, guarding, passing, throwing a 9.5” ball through an 18” hoop from 25, maybe 45 feet away. Instantaneous, instinctive geometric calculations, while some 240-lb. mass of motivated muscle is charging right at you full speed. And the game is sometimes not decided until the last minute, or the last second.
So that’s my sport, I loved to play it (badly), and I love to watch it on TV. If Your Team is still in it for the championship, you tweak your calendar around those games. But now, corporate greed has reared its ugly head on the hardwood.
I don’t spend hours in front of the TV. Don’t have any subscriptions, just a Roku plug-in for a few extras. Am I the only American who does not have a Netflix subscription? I missed a couple of important Laker games because they were only available on Amazon Prime. They lied to us and said, " Oh, only for the first round games.” Well, my Lakers survived the first round, and now I will have to LISTEN to tonight’s crucial game on AM RADIO, because the NBA decided a few million bucks more for Jeff Bezos is more important than the fans who got them where they are today, a sport played and followed worldwide.
YES, BEING A SPORTS FAN IS SILLY, REALLY
Like rock and roll. But I like it. But this scenario is just one more example of how our lives are needlessly filled with
frustration and often downright suffering and even death, because of corporations and billionaires owning our political system.
NBC's Nightly News has a segment each week called ”The Cost of Denial,” where they present the story of someone denied vital medical care because their insurance refused to cover it, against all good medical practice and science. Almost every time, that instantly changes when they have the network cameras focused on them. So, where does that leave everyone in the same boat who doesn't get NBC’s spotlight? We are the only developed nation on earth who does not provide universal health care. That’s a human right.
But there is nothing beyond the grasp of the billionaires, no matter what the human cost. A few years ago, the CEO of Nestle declared that drinking water was a commodity, not a human right. People think there are boundaries, lines corporations will not cross. Not so. The bottom line is profit, and nothing else. The only way to control that is with strong government regulations. You know, the ones the right keeps whining will take away your freedoms. No government interference! Except in the bedroom, at the voting booth, in women’s bodies, in Constitutional guarantees, in the schools, the wedding chapels, etc. Remember the
cries of “states' rights!”? That was BS for let the states decide about discrimination and abortion, because they know they can control our state government.
NO HANDLES
On paper grocery shopping bags, Vons started that five weeks ago, and someone told me Ralph’s is doing it now, too. Gelson’s, where nearly everything is overpriced, gives you handles.
Think about it. Someone at corporate HQ came up with that bright idea that saves them, what, a penny a bag? Of course, times a gazillion bags in all the stores, it adds up. But how about this? No bags at all, ever? That would save even more. How about eliminating checkers and letting everyone check out and bag – oops, no bags – their own purchases? Oh, wait, yeah, they already did that.
An employee at a Vons told me EVERYone was complaining about the no handles. I have a couple of carless neighbors not in their 20s who, by necessity, shop at Gelson’s. They can no longer get more than one bag of groceries, and cradling that one while walking back up the hill on Ocean Park is not easy. This is ridiculous. What a slap in the face to so many Santa Monica residents. Where are all those high-minded groups who want everyone to walk or bike in SM?
I wanted to get some answers from the two large chains about this decision, but it would seem they may have been paying attention to the 3 a.m. tweets of the Oval Office Orange One, and decided the press is the disgusting fake enemy of the people that they have no obligation to answer to. One store employee left me on hold for 20 minutes when I announced I was from The Mirror and wanted to ask the manager a couple of questions. One of the chains had two different phone numbers listed under customer service or public relations that were “no longer in service.” I think that tells you a lot. I will persist, as well as with the LYFT problems at Big Blue Bus’s MODE operation. They can all hide, but not forever.
The idea behind the recent national strike on May 1 was “workers over billionaires.” It has been going on for centuries, millennia even, and the $B-Boys have a lot on their side, but we have the numbers, and they need our dollars. All we need are a few hundred good men and women in DC, and the SM City Hall. Now is the time.
Charles Andrews has lived in Santa Monica for 40 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or rebuke to him at therealmrmusic@gmail.com
Santa Monica Wine Auction Raises More Than $400K for Public Schools
The event, organized by the Santa Monica Education Foundation, drew about 400 guests for an evening of wine tastings, dining and live auctions
The 11th annual Santa Monica Wine Auction, held Sunday at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, raised more than $400,000 to support Santa Monica public schools.
The event, organized by the Santa Monica Education Foundation, drew about 400 guests for an evening of wine tastings, dining and live auctions. Proceeds will fund academics, arts programs, instructional assistants and grants benefiting every public school in the district.
A highlight of the evening was the
announcement of a new Samohi Student Investment Club, a student-led program that will manage a real investment portfolio. Returns from the club will support the foundation’s Arts and Athletics Endowments. The foundation’s For Athletics campaign has already raised more than $500,000 toward a permanent
athletics endowment.
“This is learning in action,” said Danny Guggenheim, president of the Santa Monica Education Foundation’s board.
“Students are building real financial skills while directly investing in their peers, their schools, and the future of Santa Monica public education.”
and
Pedestrian fatally struck by vehicle on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu
California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles County Fire Department officials responded to the early-morning crash
Authorities are investigating a fatal earlymorning collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, which left at least one person dead Monday, as reported by KTLA News.
California Highway Patrol units were dispatched to the scene shortly before 4:40
a.m. following reports of the crash. While a CHP spokesperson initially identified an incorrect location, the Los Angeles County Fire Department later updated the site of the incident to PCH and Encinal Canyon Road.
The identity of the deceased has not been released pending notification of the next of kin. Officials have yet to determine the cause of the collision or whether factors such as speed, weather conditions, or driver impairment played a role in the incident.
Pacific Coast Highway experienced intermittent lane closures throughout the morning as investigators processed the scene. No further details regarding the driver or the vehicle involved were immediately available.
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Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/Kq_j-V3Re8c
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The auction featured tastings from local restaurants including Beethoven Market, Blue Plate Taco, BOA Steakhouse, FIG, Lunetta and Milo & Olive, along with wines from producers such as DAOU, Frank Family Vineyards, Hourglass, Ramey
Salvestrin Winery.
