S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
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SANTA MONICA KEEPS MASK ORDINANCE ALIGNED WITH COUNTY AND STATE
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May 28 – Jun 3, 2021 Volume LXXXX, Issue 95
Councilmember Kevin McKeown Abruptly Announces Retirement Retirement will be effective as of June 11 By SaM Catanzaro
Longtime Santa Monica City Councilmember Kevin McKeown abruptly announced his retirement during a meeting last night. The 72-year-old McKeown–first elected to Council in 1998 and has served as Mayor twice including most recently in 2020–made the announcement at the end of the May 25 City Council meeting. “Before we continue I have a brief announcement. This is something I wanted to say at the same time both to the Council and to the community. I have decided to retire. You have all been very kind about me not looking my age but I am well into my 70s. I am profoundly grateful for the many years that
I had the privilege and honor of being able to be a service to this city which I deeply love, but I have decided to retire, effective two weeks from Friday,” McKeown said during the virtual meeting. “I thank you, goodnight, and good-bye.” According to McKeown, his retirement will be effective as of June 11. The announcement caught other lawmakers off guard and was met with moments of stunned silence. Councilmember Phil Brock can be seen with his hands in the air in disbelief. Mayor Sue Himmelrich began to say “None of us…” but did not finish her sentence. Interim City Attorney George Cardona broke the impasse by informing Council that in order to continue someone would have to motion to re-adjourn the meeting. Council instead optioned to re-adjourned Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. via teleconference. Councilmember Kevin, see page 12
Santa Monica City Councilmember Kevein Mckeown outside city hall.
Photos: City of Santa Monica
Pacific Park Celebrates 25th Anniversary May 26 anniversary for Pacific Park By Chad Winthrop
After 15 million guests and 60 million rides, Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. Pacific Park opened on May 26, 1996, becoming the first amusement park on the Santa Monica Pier since the 1930s. Since 1996 the two-acre amusement park has entertained more than 25 million guests, provided over 60 million rides on its 12 classic
boardwalk attractions–including the beloved Pacific Wheel and The West Coaster– awarded more than 4.75 million pieces of plush and prizes at the midway games. The Park also spun over 1.1 million pieces of cotton candy, scooped more than 105,000 gallons of ice cream and brewed over a perky 1.6 million cups of coffee. All this month, Pacific Park has been sharing memories and archival photos on social media. 1998: Pacific Park and Southern California Edison Technology Solutions created the world’s first and still only solar-powered Ferris wheel.
Photo: Courtesy Pacific Park (Facebook)
Pacific Park, see page 12
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May 28 – Jun 3, 2021
Santa Monica High School Places Fourth in National Ocean Sciences Bowl 21 teams competed in virtual finals competition By Chad Winthrop
Recently students from Santa Monica High School placed fourth in the National Finals of the 24th Annual National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB), in a field of over 200 teams. An interdisciplinary ocean science education program of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, the NOSB tests students’ knowledge of ocean science topics, including cross-disciplines of biology, chemistry, policy, physics, and geology. This year, due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis, students competed May 15-16 in a modified, virtual competition season culminating in over a week of online competition, mentoring, and interactive “field trip” events as part of NOSB Finals. Students on the Santa Monica team include Sara Akiba, Halie Matsui, Theodore Berger, and Ethan Foley (team photo below). They are coached by Ingo Gaida.
This year’s theme, Plunging into Our Polar Seas, tasked students with learning about the scientific processes behind and consequences of the changes taking place in the Arctic and Antarctic. To qualify for Finals, the teams first had to win their regional competitions, which took place entirely virtually for the first time ever this year. In total, more than 210 teams (made up of almost 1,050 students representing nearly 30 states) participated, adding to the over than 30,000 students who have passed through the ocean sciences competition over the last 24 years. Through buzzer-style, multiple-choice questions and open-ended team challenge questions, students tested their general knowledge of ocean science and showcased what they learned about the complex, vulnerable ecosystems of the Arctic and Antarctic as well as the research needed to address issues facing our polar regions. This year’s theme also highlighted one Arctic study in particular — the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate, or MOSAiC, project. Modeled after the 1893-1896 Fram journey, MOSAiC is a collaborative, international research expedition that froze a scientific research
Photo: NOSB
The Santa Monica High School team and coach.
vessel in sea ice for a year to study the changing ocean in the Arctic. Teams also presented science recommendations on a piece of legislation in the Science Expert Briefing (SEB), a mock congressional hearing that enhances the critical thinking elements of the competition and focuses on real-world skills. The top eight teams at the Finals Competition were: • 1st Place – Dougherty Valley High School (San Ramon, CA) • 2nd Place – Lexington High School
(Lexington, MA) • 3rd Place – Canyon Crest Academy (San Diego, CA) • 4th Place – Santa Monica High School (Santa Monica, CA) • 5th Place – Tesla STEM High School (Redmond, WA) • 6th Place – Saline High School (Saline, MI) • 7th Place – Oxford High School (Oxford, MS) • 8th Place – Edwin O. Smith High School (Storrs, CT)
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May 28 – Jun 3, 2021
Santa Monica Police Santa Monica Keeps Searching for Man Wanted Mask Ordinance Aligned for at Least 7 Burglaries With County and State at Montana and Wilshire Masks still must Businesses be worn in Santa
SMPD seeking public’s assistance identifying suspect
Monica under latest supplement to emergency order
By SaM Catanzaro
Santa Monica police are asking the public for help identifying a man believed to be responsible for at least seven burglaries in the Montana and Wilshire business corridors. According to the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD), the suspect (pictured above) is described as a Black man in his 20s, thin build, short dreadlocks with a thin mustache. The suspect has been seen wearing a colorful backpack with Bart Simpson graphic print, green camouflage hoodie, black “Puma” long sleeve hoodie, gray pants with black stripes and blue bandana with circular patterns. “The suspect is targeting businesses, such as restaurants, clothing stores, nail salons, hotels, and medical offices along Wilshire Boulevard, Montana Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard.
By SaM Catanzaro Photo: SMPD
A man wanted by Santa Monica police for a string of commercial burglaries.
The suspect enters the businesses through an open rear door and goes to ’employees only’ areas and steals wallets, cell phones and other employees’ property. The suspect is responsible for at least seven burglaries,” the SMPD said. The Santa Monica Police Department is asking the public’s help to locate and identify this suspect. Any information, please contact Detective P. Zamfirov at (310) 458-8398, Sgt. C. Green at (310) 458-8414, or the Watch Commander (24 hours) at (310) 458-2249
Masks will still be required in Santa Monica, at least for the next few weeks. On May 19, Santa Monica’s Interim City Manager Lane Dilg signed the 36th supplement to the city’s local emergency aligning Santa Monica’s guidance for face coverings with Los Angeles County and the State of California. Under this guidance, face coverings must continue to be worn indoors and around crowds, including for those who have been vaccinated. “This allows time for the vaccination rate to increase leading up to the full reopening of the state’s economy on June 15, when face coverings will only be required in certain settings,” the City said in a press release. A crowded space in Santa Monica is defined as a “space outside of one’s residence where
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
A man wears a mask near the Santa Monica Pier.
a person cannot maintain at least 6 feet of distance from non-household members and it is unknown whether all persons present are fully vaccinated.” Crowded places include the Santa Monica Pier, Ocean Front Walk, the Third Street Promenade and after 12 p.m. on Fridays. In announcing the supplemental order, Dilg noted that nearly three-quarters of Santa Monica residents have been vaccinated. “This supplement further signals the return to normal we’ve worked so hard to reach. We are grateful to the 71 percent of Santa Monicans who have been vaccinated and all community members who have worked together to promote the public health,” Dilg said.
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May 28 – Jun 3, 2021
Trejo’s Tacos Open, Rosti Expanding, Restaurant Honored
Santa Monica Food Scene By Kerry Slater
Among the culinary happenings in Santa Monica include the opening of a Danny Trejo taco spot, the expansion of Rosti Tuscan Kitchen and a local restaurant being named one of 22 greatest restaurants in Los Angeles.
Trejo’s Tacos Up and Running
Trejo’s Tacos, from legendary actor Danny Trejo, is now up and running in Santa Monica. Earlier this year, Trejo’s Tacos put up signage at 316 Santa Monica Boulevard. The storefront, adjacent to the Third Street Promenade, used to be home to French bakery and cafe Le Pain Quotidien. On May 13, the restaurant announced the location had opened. Trejo’s Tacos has a handful of other locations across Los Angeles in Hollywood, La Brea, West LA, the Original Farmer’s Market and Pasadena. The menu is more than just tacos. A range of appetizers–including empanadas and Chicharrón–large plates,
soups, bowls and quesadillas are offered as well, and as beer and wine. In an interview with KCRW last summer, the 76-year-old actor–a Los Angeles native known for such films including “Heat” (1995), “Desperado” (1995) and “Machete” (2010)–described the taco as a perfect meal. “The taco is so versatile. You can do anything with a taco, except don’t put ketchup on it. You can put carnitas. You can put carne asada, avocado, anything,” Trejo said. The restaurant is open Wednesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Rosti Expanding
A popular Montana Avenue Italian restaurant is opening a location in Brentwood. Rosti Tuscan Kitchen recently announced on its website that it will be opening a Brentwood location. As reported by Jeff Hall, the restaurant will open in Suite 104 of San Vicente Plaza. The restaurant, with locations on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica and Calabasas, is self-described as “a transplant of simple Tuscan countryside cooking where fresh herbs and wholesome ingredients marry one another and create a delightful experience.”
“Our trained chefs start with Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Sweet Basil, Garlic and Marjoram as our star ingredients and then add the finest Meats, Seafood, Pasta and Cheeses to complete the dish,” the restaurant adds. An opening date has yet to be announced for the Brentwood location.
Santa Monica Restaurant Named One of Los Angeles’ 22 Greatest Restaurants
A Santa Monica restaurant has been named one of the 22 greatest restaurants in Los Angeles. Recently Open Table published an article titled “Los Angeles’s 22 Greatest Restaurants”. Among the eateries included was one Santa Monica restaurant: Birdie G’s, located at 2421 Michigan Avenue. “After earning a Michelin star and literally writing the book “On Vegetables,” chef Jeremy Fox has moved on to global comfort food at his sprawling Santa Monica spot Birdie G’s. Inspiration comes from all over on this menu: red-sauce joints are honored with a chopped salad laden with hot ham, cornichons, olive, chickpeas, giardiniera, and cheddar, while noodle kugel is a tribute to the
Photo: Trejo’s Tacos (Facebook)
Eastern European food Fox’s grandmother used to make — though it’s safe to guess his grandma didn’t weave in ricotta, applesauce, walnuts, and sage brown butter. The mix of nostalgia and fine dining skill have made Birdie G’s an instant hit just two years after opening,” reads the Open Table write-up. Visit birdiegsla.com for more information.
Column: Malibu is Poison Free, Are You? By Andy Lopez
I tell folks that I heal the soil. Healing the soil is really an art that has to be developed over time much like a doctor gains experience over time. I started early in my life healing the soil but I did not realize that is what I was doing until 1970 ( I started in 6th grade around 1966), however, I knew then that using chemical fertilizers was bad for the soil and in turn bad for the plants. My relationships with the plants and the soil started early in my life. I would see healthy plants or healthy trees and I would also see unhealthy plants and healthy trees and would wonder what was wrong with the sick ones. It didn’t take me long to realize that it all came down to what they were eating or rather what they weren’t eating. At that time, I didn’t know about compost or about the little invisible army of the soil. I never used chemical fertilizers or any of those things. I was always natural and organic. So I began to look for the best sources of organic fertilizers. What really helped me in this search was a farmer I ran into one day. My dad would always take me to the local farmers market because I was organic fruit and vegetables instead of the store bought junk. I knew that you are what you eat and figured it has to be the same with plants. One day on the way
to the farmers market, I noticed a farmers stand selling organic produce, fruit and organic fertilizer. So I had my dad stop and check it out. He gave me a piece of fruit that tasted so amazing I had to have more. I bought a lot from him that day (rather my dad did). I also asked him about what organic fertilizer he was selling. Turns out it was rock dust! That changed my life. The name is a general term for rocks that have been crushed into fine powder. Not just any rock, but rocks that are rich in minerals. We all need minerals but have you tried eating rocks? The living soil is very good at turning rocks into a source of food for plants. That is why we eat plants and animals, for the minerals. The microbes in the soil have evolved over time to take rocks and convert them into an available source of food for the plants. It is important that all life gets the minerals they need to be healthy. We and the plants all need the identical trace minerals to be healthy. All plant and human diseases start in the soil. It is the microbes that control these diseases. Kill off these microbes and they will not be there to make the food that plants and us in turn need. Let me help your soil to come back to life. My services are safe for the earth, safe for you. If you have a tree or plant let me heal them. I do a whole property natural microbial spraying on a monthly basis.
Andy Lopez, the founder of Invisible Gardener.
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Photo: Courtesy
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May 28 – Jun 3, 2021
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Summer Fun
2021
Summer A Yacht Experience Beach Safety Like No Other
Photo: LA County Lifeguards (Facebook).
An umbrella is essential to a safe beach day, providing valuable sun protection.
LA County lifeguards share tips to get the most out of the beach this summer By SaM Catanzaro Few things can top a sunny beach day, whether in Santa Monica, Venice, Malibu or the Palisades, but like all outdoor activities there are risks involved, whether from the ocean,, sand or sun. Luckily LA County boasts some of the world’s finest lifeguards helping keep the beach safe. This past week, with summer right around the corner, the Los Angeles County Fire
Department Lifeguard Division took part in National Beach Safety Week. “Along with other lifeguard agencies around the state and nation, we will be sharing a number of beach safety tips in an attempt to get beachgoers informed and ready for what is characteristically one of our busiest holiday weekends of the year,” the Department said. While National Beach Safety Week will come and go, these tips remain invaluable for any beach outing.
Sun Safety
To begin National Beach Safety Week, LA County Lifeguards explained the importance
Beach Safety, see page 8 & 9
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Check with the lifeguard to ask about any inshore holes.
Beach Safety, from page 5 of sun safety “For today’s tip we will talk about the importance of Sun Safety as it is equally important for both lifeguards and beachgoers alike. Protect yourself from the sun by wearing protective clothing, applying and reapplying sunscreen throughout the day, using a hat, drinking plenty of fluids, and seeking shade when possible. If you are bringing your own shade in the form of an umbrella or E-Z up please be mindful of where you set up so that Lifeguards will be able to continue to supervise the water unobstructed around you,” the Department wrote.
Rip Currents
Rip currents can be hard to spot and can be a hazard even on calm-looking days. According to LA County Lifeguards, they are one of the leading factors behind ocean rescues in Santa Monica Bay. “Rip currents are one of the leading causes of ocean rescues in Los Angeles County. Spotting a rip current can be difficult for
most beach goers which is why we always recommend checking in with the Lifeguard BEFORE getting in the water. Lifeguards are the experts on ocean and beach conditions for their area and will be able to provide beachgoers information regarding the safest places to swim and any existing hazards!” LA County Lifeguards said.
Inshore Holes
Inshore Holes, like rip currents, are often a hidden danger, another good reason to check with the lifeguard before entering the ocean. “At certain times of the year, especially during or after periods of large surf, the ocean bottom can be very uneven. Waves break in shallow water and displace the sand on the ocean floor. Ocean patrons may notice this condition while walking through the water close to shore, when just one step sends you from ankle-deep to waist-deep water. These areas may be somewhat difficult to identify. Consult the lifeguard prior to entering the water to get a report of the conditions,” LA County lifeguards say.
Jellyfish and Stingrays
It is always best to swim near a lifeguard tower.
May 28 – Jun 3, 2021
May 28 – Jun 3, 2021
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Beach Safety, from page 5 Santa Monica Bay is home to all types of creatures. Some are cute and docile, like dolphins and seals. Others, however, can be dangerous, including jellyfish and stingrays. Luckily LA County Lifeguards are well prepared to come to the rescue if an unlucky beach patron gets stung. So what to do if you get stung by a jellyfish? “First of all, try not to touch the site where you came in contact with the jellyfish. Consult the nearest lifeguard and he or she will treat you appropriately. Usually, treating the sting with a mixture of vinegar and saline water will alleviate the pain,” lifeguards said. And what about stingrays? “Go straight to a lifeguard for treatment. The venom from the sting ray barb will cause intense pain, so getting to a lifeguard for treatment is imperative. There is, however, a literal step one can take to minimize the risk of stingrays: The Stingray Shuffle. “Stingrays are docile creatures that avoid humans. Stingrays can be avoided by shuffling one’s feet along the sandy bottom, giving time for the stingray to move away,” lifeguards said. Visit Fire.LAcounty.gov/Lifeguard-FAQs for more information.
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Rip currents, while often visually stunning, are one of the leading causes for lifeguard rescues in LA County. Remember to check with the lifeguard!
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SA N T A M ON I C A C OL L E GE
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SANTA MONICA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES Rob Rader, Chair; Dr. Louise Jaffe, Vice Chair; Dr. Susan Aminoff; Dr. Nancy Greenstein; Dr. Margaret Quiñones-Perez; Dr. Sion Roy; Barry A. Snell; Joshua Elizondo, Student Trustee; Kathryn E. Jeffery, Ph.D., Superintendent/President Santa Monica College | 1900 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405 | smc.edu
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May 28 – Jun 3, 2021
OPINION
Community vs Commodity SMa.r.t. Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow
The cost of housing in a capitalist society is primarily determined by who owns it. While housing can be bought, sold, or leased according to certain constraints, fees, and changing tax laws, the principal agency still remains with the owner. For example in Santa Monica, while the owner can only raise the rent each year of a rent controlled apartment by a percentage established by the Rent Control Board, when the tenant moves out the owner can raise it to whatever they want consistent with the marketplace demand of that unit. Naturally the forprofit owner will normally raise the rent as high as possible because the building’s value is primarily determined by its gross income so its appreciation and operational profit depend essentially on maximizing rent. For-profit owners thereby treat their units and buildings as a commodity, e.g. a standard product that can be bought, sold or leased, no different from say speculating on agricultural futures although with less volatility. Commodities are designed for speculation. Their owners, whether individual or corporate, hope they will appreciate and real estate appreciation is the traditional way of wealth accumulation for most American families and many of our wealthiest moguls. However, housing speculation has had a tremendously negative effect on Santa Monica’s housing affordability. Supply and Demand will not help Most people assume the marketplace is competitive: e.g. renters, which are 72% of Santa Monica’s population, shopping for housing can theoretically find a variety of prices and bedroom count at prices related to their income. But the
Councilmember Kevin, from page 1
McKeown, a 40-year resident of Santa Monica who served as Mayor in 2015 and 2019, was not immediately available for comment. As reported by the Santa Monica Lookout, McKeown participated in a virtual Ocean Park Association (OPA) Wednesday evening and said only that health was not a factor and that it was the right time for retirement. “You’ve watched me so you know that I’m a pretty thoughtful guy, not all that impetuous,” reads a transcript from his remarks published by the Lookout. “So I’ve been thinking about this for some time. “At the moment there’s a lot of change happening in the city. Our city manager’s
Pacific Park, from page 1
2006: Pacific Park’s solar-powered Ferris wheel was named “Best of America” by the editors of Reader’s Digest magazine. 2008: Pacific Park introduced an all-new $1.5 million Ferris wheel featuring more than 160,000 energy-efficient LED lights. Pacific Park sold the previous Ferris wheel on eBay to benefit the Special Olympics of Southern California. 2012: Los Angeles Police Officer Gus Martinez set the Guinness World Records title
Santa Monica marketplace is not competitive for our residents. We live on the wealthy west side of Los Angeles, and there is always a wealthier tenant wanting to live by the beach and capable of out “bidding” the typical middle-income tenant, not to mention seniors on limited incomes. Likewise AirBnB tourists will also continually outbid the local residents for that same bedroom. Over time a shrinking percentage of units will be affordable to a wide spectrum of renters and not be subject to hyperrent inflation. Most will experience runaway rent increases escalating faster than incomes, relentlessly displacing more modest earning tenants. Building more (e.g. relying on supply and demand) new units that cost typically $600-700,000 each, does not help because the cost of those new units requires that they have a priori rents higher than the median-income resident can afford. In addition, in spite of all the recent construction, vacancies have flatlined at about 4000 units for the last few years but most of these units are not affordable. Clearly the marketplace is not competitive when about 9% of the units are vacant (when the normal residential vacancy rate is 3-5%) and while simultaneously the streets are awash with the homeless. It does not make a difference if you are a mom and pop landlord saving for retirement or an international corporation or Real Estate Investment Trust trying to maximize profits for remote stockholders, you are both speculating in the same distorted marketplace. Thus over the last 40 years we have created a barbell City: a bunch of wealthy tenants at the upper end and a few residents at the low end in rent controlled apartments. The combination of vacancy decontrol and steady production of new upper end housing has hollowed out the middle income residents of our City and can be described as a gentrification machine. Needless to say the same process that flushes middle income residents out of the City also prevents those residents from buying and gaining ownership of
any property at all. This is not an argument against wealth, we should all have some, but for being aware that the system we live in, is not fair to 44% of our renter households that pay more than 30% of their income to live here. In other words we do not have a housing production crisis but a housing affordability crisis. Three things that create more affordable Housing Essentially three things increase housing affordability and its sister diversity, absent a major across the board wage increase (particularly the minimum wage): 1. SUBSIDIES of all kinds (using City lands, section 8 vouchers, rent control, City sales tax dedicated to housing, tax credit syndications, etc., etc.) to build or rent deed restricted affordable housing. This requires a BIG cash subsidy but it absolutely delivers affordable housing. OR 2. DISTANCE e.g. dislocating residents out to where land is cheap (San Bernardino, Lancaster etc.) where you can buy a house for say $400,000. This is fake affordability since those displaced pay for their cheap homes often by commuting long distances unless they can work remotely. Needless to say moving jobs to where people want to live (in the periphery) is never discussed because the speculation returns are substantially greater at the central nodes. OR 3. POPULATION ALTERATIONS This can be either doubling up by cramming more people into fewer bedrooms or conversely mass emigration such as for The cost of housing in a capitalist society is primarily determined by who owns it. While housing can be bought, sold, or leased according to certain constraints, fees, and changing tax laws, the principal agency still remains with the owner. For example in Santa Monica, while the owner can only raise the rent each year of a rent controlled apartment by a percentage established
about to leave, we’re about to adopt a housing element, a budget. “These are all actions that should be voted on by people who intend to continue on, so this seemed like the time, the moment, having completed as much as I wanted to, as I could.” MKeown, a Santa Monica renter for 45 years, for 25 years, served as Macintosh computer consultant for the Santa MonicaMalibu Unified School District. On City Council, where he is in the third year of his sixth term, he has been an advocate for renter rights, affordable housing, and environmental sustainability. In 2015, McKeown made a presentation on behalf of Santa Monica to an international audience at the United Nations climate conference where the Paris Accords were agreed to. He served as Mayor in 2020,
which was a uniquely difficult year in Santa Monica history. McKeown is also Santa Monica’s Director on the Board of the Clean Power Alliance of Southern California, and serves on the State of California’s Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, and as the current chair of the regional Westside Cities Council of Governments. “Kevin has dedicated his life to making Santa Monica stronger, greener, and more equitable. I personally was devastated to learn about his plans to retire, and our City Council will sorely miss his depth of experience and his punny humor. Kevin has had a unique ability to coalesce the Council around our shared values and goals and has tirelessly worked to meaningfully advance protections and support
for vulnerable tenants and residents. His active correspondence with constituents has been a model of public service,” said Mayor Sue Himmelrich. “This is a man who loves Santa Monica in his bones and demonstrated unrelenting integrity and dedication to the community as a tenured Councilmember. It is hard to imagine a meeting without his perfect radio voice and comedic timing.” Santa Monica’s City Charter requires that Council has 30 days after a vacancy is declared to appoint an individual to fill the vacancy. Next steps in that process will be discussed at the Council’s next meeting in early June. In the event that the City Council fails to fill the vacancy by appointment within 30 days after the seat is declared vacant, a special election would be held to fill the vacancy.
of 25 hours on a Ferris wheel at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier. 2013: Pacific Park’s Ferris wheel was selected by Travel + Leisure magazine as one of the “World’s Coolest Ferris Wheels.” 2015: Yahoo! Travel announced its “The Best Amusement Park in Every State” with Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier taking top honors in California. 2016: In light of its 20th Birthday celebration, Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier introduced a new Ferris wheel lighting package in 2016. Standing 130 feet above the Pacific Ocean, the nearly $1 million lighting system allows the Park to display dynamic,
unique, and brilliant light programs every evening. 2018: Top competitive eaters competed in the first-ever Pacific Park World Taco-Eating Championship. The inaugural event took place on “National Taco Day” and set a new world record as the #1-Ranked Competitive Eater In The World Joey Chestnut ate 62 Pacific Park street-style carnita tacos in 8 minutes to claim the Major League Eating title. 2019: Netflix takes over the Santa Monica Pier with their “Stranger Things” premier celebration. Fans of the show were invited to walk through an immersive 1980s Hawkins, Indiana, experience complete with 1980s
bands, theming from the show, and specially curated treats and prizes. 2020: Pacific Park honored doctors, nurses, medical staff and healthcare workers for more than 300 nights on the Pacific Wheel during the once-in-a-lifetime COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Following the closure of Pacific Parks for more than 13 months, with Los Angeles County now in the yellow tier, the amusement park has welcomed guests back to the rides under limitations to allow for social distancing and safe enjoyment of the outdoor attractions.
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
“Real estate appreciation is the traditional way of wealth accumulation for most American families and many of our wealthiest moguls. However, housing speculation has had a tremendously negative effect on Santa Monica’s housing affordability,” writes SMa.r.t. in their latest column.
by the Rent Control Board, when the tenant moves out the owner can raise it to whatever they want consistent with the marketplace demand of that unit. Naturally the for-profit owner will normally raise the rent as high as possible because the building’s value is primarily determined by its gross income so its appreciation and operational profit depend essentially on maximizing rent. Forprofit owners thereby treat their units and buildings as a commodity, e.g. a standard product that can be bought, sold or leased, no different from say speculating on agricultural futures although with less volatility. Commodities are designed for speculation. Their owners, whether individual or corporate, hope they will appreciate and real estate appreciation is the traditional way of wealth accumulation for most American families and many of our wealthiest moguls. However, housing speculation has had a tremendously negative effect SMART, see page 14
May 28 – Jun 3, 2021
FILM REVIEW: MONSTER
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Rated R 98 Minutes Released May 7th on Netflix
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BEHIND THE SCREEN By Kathryn Whitney Boole McKeown, a 40-year resident of Santa MThe film Monster is a beautifully arranged labyrinth of emotion and human predicament. The narrative effortlessly whisks you into the emotional whirlpool of a young black teen confronted by our justice system. The meticulous way the story and visuals are threaded, combined with extraordinary acting, will find you inside the mind of 17-year-old “Steve Harmon” as he navigates jail and the courtroom. You will see through his eyes, and his friends, family and filmmaking teacher will be your guides. The film premiered at Sundance 2018. The movie took many years to bring to the screen. It’s based on the best-selling 1999 novel of the same name by Walter Dean Myers, one of the most prolific and beloved writers of children’s literature of our time. The screenplay was first written in 2013, production planning began in 2016, it was filmed in late 2016 and completed in January 2018. Netflix acquired it in 2020 and finally released it this month. The story is perhaps more impactful now than ever. The cast and filmmakers are all remarkable in their own right, and here they come together to make an outstanding film. Director Anthony Mandler is known for his artistry directing music videos, for musicians with styles as varied as Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Jay Z, Lana Del Rey and Rihanna. This is his feature film debut. Screenwriter Colen C. Wiley describes his life as “anchored by an upbringing that was heavily influenced by the black intellectual movements of the 20th century” with a career that “included everything from flipping burgers, to working at NASA, to waiting tables, to teaching youth as a gang avoidance counselor, to mopping floors, to graduating from Harvard Law School.” The solid ensemble of actors includes John David Washington, Denzel’s son, who as the painfully angry “Bobo” was playing so against his own personality that he would stay in character long after each scene was completed, according to those on set. ASAP Rocky, who started rapping at the age of 8 while growing
up in Harlem, plays “King.” Kelvin Harrison Jr. carries the story in the central role of Steve Harmon. Harrison will certainly be recognized for this work now that the movie has finally been released. Jennifer Ehle is magnificent as courtappointed defense attorney “Maureen O’Brien.” Her work always impresses me - her focus and energy bring impact to every scene. She is the daughter of the legendary Rosemary Harris. But the story all started in the mind of author Myers, born in West Virginia and raised in Harlem, whose life was eloquently described in this 2014 eulogy by Dashka Slater in the New York Times: In the beginning, there was a boy. A distracted, disruptive boy — a bad boy, his teachers said. A tall, athletic boy who fought with other kids and threw books around the classroom and talked when he wasn’t supposed to. A boy who stumbled over his words but moved with perfect grace on the basketball court. A boy who read voraciously — Mark Twain, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Samuel Coleridge, Charles Dickens, Dylan Thomas, Honoré de Balzac, James Joyce — even after he dropped out of Stuyvesant High School in New York. A boy whose questing intelligence was engaged in a long and complicated conversation with the books he read, books that made him feel more real than his real life did but that were also silent about black boys like him. Literature was his one true faith, the lens through which he surveyed every aspect of the human condition. His personal mission: To create literature about the people whose stories had been left off the shelf. Myers’ own prescient words were published in the Times in 1986: “If we continue to make black children nonpersons by excluding them from books and by degrading the black experience, and if we continue to neglect white children by not exposing them to any aspect of other racial and ethnic experiences in a meaningful way, we will have a next racial crisis,” Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com
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SMART, from page 12 on Santa Monica’s housing affordability. Supply and Demand will not help Most people assume the marketplace is competitive: e.g. renters, which are 72% of Santa Monica’s population, shopping for housing can theoretically find a variety of prices and bedroom count at prices related to their income. But the Santa Monica marketplace is not competitive for our residents. We live on the wealthy west side of Los Angeles, and there is always a wealthier tenant wanting to live by the beach and capable of out “bidding” the typical middle-income tenant, not to mention seniors on limited incomes. Likewise AirBnB tourists will also continually outbid the local residents for that same bedroom. Over time a shrinking percentage of units will be affordable to a wide spectrum of renters and not be subject to hyperrent inflation. Most will experience runaway rent increases escalating faster than incomes, relentlessly displacing more modest earning tenants. Building more (e.g. relying on supply and demand) new units that cost typically $600-700,000 each, does not help because the cost of those new units requires that they have a priori rents higher than the median-income resident can afford. In addition, in spite of all the recent construction, vacancies have flatlined at about 4000 units for the last few years but most of these units are not affordable. Clearly the marketplace is not competitive when about 9% of the units are vacant (when the normal residential vacancy rate is 3-5%) and while simultaneously the streets are awash with the homeless. It does not make a difference if you are a mom and pop landlord saving for retirement or an international corporation or Real Estate Investment Trust trying to maximize profits for remote stockholders, you are both speculating in the same distorted marketplace. Thus over the last 40 years we have created a barbell City: a bunch of wealthy tenants at the upper end and a few residents at the low end in rent controlled apartments. The combination of vacancy decontrol and steady production of new upper end housing has hollowed out the middle income residents of our City and can be described as a gentrification machine. Needless to say the same process that flushes middle income residents out of the City also prevents those residents from buying and gaining ownership of any property at all. This is not an argument against wealth, we should all have some, but for being aware that the system we live in, is not fair to 44% of our renter households that pay more than 30% of their income to live here. In other words we do not have a housing production crisis but a housing affordability crisis. Three things that create more affordable Housing Essentially three things increase housing affordability and its sister diversity, absent a major across the board wage increase (particularly the minimum wage): 1. SUBSIDIES of all kinds (using City lands, section 8 vouchers, rent control, City sales tax dedicated to housing, tax credit syndications, etc., etc.) to build or rent deed restricted affordable housing. This requires a BIG cash subsidy but it absolutely delivers affordable housing. OR 2. DISTANCE e.g. dislocating residents out to where land is cheap (San Bernardino, Lancaster etc.) where you can buy a house for say $400,000. This is fake affordability since those displaced pay for their cheap homes often by commuting long distances unless they can work remotely. Needless to say moving jobs to where people want to live (in the periphery) is never discussed because the speculation returns are substantially greater at the central nodes. OR 3. POPULATION ALTERATIONS This can be either doubling up by cramming more people into fewer bedrooms or conversely mass emigration such as for example Cleveland which lost about 50% of its population in the last 50 years so there is plenty of cheap housing there. Just increasing density by up zoning does not lead to affordability increases, because it provides many upper-end market rate units for very few affordable units.
May 28 – Jun 3, 2021
Population alterations is an unstable temporary affordability “solution” caused by some kind of one off job boom such as WW2 (unlikely again in SM’s case) or an earthquake disaster (possible in SM’s case) or conversely when housing completely exceeds residents as in the depopulation of the Rust Belt or during pandemic flight. Decommodifying Housing All other development mantras such as transit oriented development, inclusionary housing, making the R-1 zone multifamily are all approaches that just speed up the gentrification machine by facilitating speculation. Remember speculative developers will only build where they can make substantial profits therefore they never voluntarily build affordable housing because there’s no profit there. So the most productive way to increase housing affordability is to figure out how to get the funds to move as many housing properties (rental and ownership) from being speculative commodities into the hands of those who don’t need to speculate. For example if permanently deed restricted affordable rental housing is built on surplus City land, it is much more affordable because the land is “free” but is still owned by the City. This land subsidy makes the starting rent lower and its public non-speculative ownership removes the need for speculative future rent increases that outstrip tenants’ income increases. In other words housing can become a service like the publicly owned water system instead of a form of colonialism for renters. A limited equity housing cooperative is essentially a collectively owned building whose owners agree to limit the equity each owner can extract when they sell their unit back to the cooperative when they leave. They get a specified limited return on their initial investment, and this group of owners gets assurances that that unit will still be affordable for the next “owner”. Finally the City’s non profit housing providers such as Community Corp, which manages about 90 buildings housing with 1800 units for about 4000 residents (4% of SM’s population) is another example of non speculative ownership providing price stability for renters. These ways of transferring ownership to stable communities of local owners who are vested in keeping their properties affordable for future residents is called decommodifying housing. Essentially by giving up the ability to make massive speculative profits, you remove the terror of explosive rent increases for tenants or the real fear of never owning any property at all for potential buyers. But this “loss” gives the neighborhoods long term stability because any tenant income increases are more aligned with modest rent increases caused by inflation. It is also the only permanent solution for housing the homeless: since you can’t speculate on those who have nothing. You still need the same start-up construction or purchasing funds to build or buy into these arrangements, but their rollout is much different from being on the speculative treadmill. The construction costs of these affordable projects cost are the same as building market rate projects, but while the latter lead to massive gentrification, the former lead to permanent stable and affordable communities. Decommodifying housing requires giving up some speculative potential profits, but gives you community and affordability. We think this trade off is worth it rather than going farther down the failed speculative road that got us into the affordability crisis to begin with. By doing so we may be able to open up our city to the wide diversity of Los Angeles. A diversity that is the foundation of a healthy and thriving community. By Mario Fonda-Bonardi for S.M.a.r.t Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow Thane Roberts, Architect, Robert H. Taylor AIA, Ron Goldman FAIA, Architect, Dan Jansenson, Architect, Building and Fire-Life Safety Commission, Samuel Tolkin Architect, Mario Fonda-Bonardi, AIA, Planning Commissioner, Marc Verville CPA Inactive, Michael Jolly, AIR CRE. For previous articles see www.santamonicaarch.wordpress.com/writing
May 28 – Jun 3, 2021
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