1760 Ocean Avenue
PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS HERE! Yes, in this very spot! Call for details (310)
Santa Monica, CA 90401
458-7737
88
$
+ Taxes
BOOK DIRECT AND SAVE SeaviewHotel .com
WHAT’S UP WESTSIDE ..................PAGE 2 OCEAN PARK SURVEY ..................PAGE 3 EARTH TALK ....................................PAGE 4 KNOW BEFORE YOU GO ................PAGE 5 MYSTERY REVEALED ....................PAGE 9
MONDAY
11.06.17 Volume 16 Issue 307
@smdailypress
Lawmakers push for building boom ahead of population growth
310.393.6711
Parking | Kitchenettes | WiFi Available
Starting from
@smdailypress
Santa Monica Daily Press
Former Etsy VP growing her start-up blocks away from the Pacific
KATE CAGLE
smdp.com
City hands out Fitbits to get Mid-City and Pico neighbors moving
Daily Press Staff Writer
KATE CAGLE The population in Los Angeles County will grow by more than one million people over the next twenty years, according to a preliminary forecast by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). SCAG unveiled the new estimate at a meeting of lawmakers and business leaders in Los Angeles to talk about fixing the state’s housing shortage. SCAG forecasts the population will grow from its current level of 10.2 million residents to nearly 11.2 million by 2035, according to the study released at the 16th annual Mayoral Housing, Transportation and Jobs Summit. “What we cherish the most – our region’s quality of life – is at stake if we cannot build more housing or build and maintain the transportation infrastructure necessary to accommodate this growth,” said Hasan Ikhrata, SCAG’s executive director. At the meeting, developers and architects praised a new law that requires local jurisdictions to report their annual increase in housing stock to the state. Every city is allocated a percentage of new housing to build in a Regional Housing Assessment. SCAG produces the assessment for Los Angeles County. In the past, there have been no consequences for cities that fail to keep up with their allocations. That’s about to change Jan. 1. Under SB 35, municipalities that fail to reach certain state-mandated goals will find their local agencies overruled by a state streamlining process to get devel-
Daily Press Staff Writer
Kate Cagle
SOFTWARE: Santa Monica based Reaction Commerce’s software facilitates online shopping.
KATE CAGLE Daily Press Staff Writer
Amid the tourists and street performers who pack the Santa Monica Pier day after day, you may bump into local entrepreneur Sara Hicks walking with one of her employees. Hicks prefers to take one-on-one meetings with her employees to the beach. Tech companies are notoriously concerned about office culture, and the founder of Reaction Commerce is no exception. The former Vice President at Etsy believes the sight of some sand and the sound of ocean waves creates a calming backdrop for her growing e-commerce company. “I think walking resets the mind,” Hicks said in an interview with the Daily Press in her office on Main Street. “You’re forced into a different zone or energy by being out in nature. There’s
something that reduces the tension so if there’s a conversation where you have to give more direct feedback it makes it a little less challenging.” Hicks’ start-up, Reaction Commerce, is tucked away in an office building above Tim Clark Design, Inc. A recent visit found empty chairs in front of widescreen computers in the creative office space. Hicks explained her employees were in town visiting from around the world and enjoying a Hollywood Bus Tour of Los Angeles at the moment. The start-up is gearing up for some big growth after raising $8.5 million in venture capital. Hicks will soon be hiring more developers, engineers, marketers and sales reps. The CEO allows many of her employees to work remotely around the world, acknowledging it means meetings can be a tad “time zone challenged.” It’s a SEE START-UP PAGE 7
SEE GROWTH PAGE 8
PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS HERE! Yes, in this very spot! Call for details (310) 458-7737
Manny Serrano was focused on his computer when he felt a buzz on his wrist. It was his Fitbit Alta reminding him to move. The Pico neighborhood resident finished up what he was doing, turned off his laptop and took a walk. “I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed but I’m checking it three or four times a day,” Serrano said of the fitness tracker that is counting his steps, estimating the amount of calories he’s burned and tracking his sleep at night. As one of about 200 volunteers in a new program by the City of Santa Monica, Serrano isn’t the only one tracking his data. It travels to the cloud and makes its way to digital research firm Fitabase. The San Diego-based company has worked with universities and medical research institutes from around the world to use Fitbit devices to study health, but Santa Monica may be the first municipality tracking the step counts of its own citizens. The program launched last Saturday with the first wave of 100 Fitbit Altas wrapped around the wrists of volunteers like Serrano, his older brother and his mom. The study is in response to the City’s 2017 Wellbeing Index, which found only 38 percent of locals are active for twenty or more minutes a day. Residents of the 90404 zip code were 35 percent more likely to say the city doesn’t have accessible options to keep fit, according to Public Information Officer Constance Farrell. “The Office of Wellbeing sent SEE FITBITS PAGE 7
Gary Limjap (310) 586-0339 In today’s real estate climate ...
Experience counts! garylimjap@gmail.com www.garylimjap.com
TAXES ALL FORMS, ALL TYPES, ALL STATES
BACK TAXES • BOOKKEEPING • SMALL BUSINESS
SAMUEL B. MOSES, CPA
(310) 395-9922
100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1800Santa Monica 90401