𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘: Volunteers Join Forces to Plant Trees and Capture Stormwater in Venice

VENICE, CA — Saturday, September 27, 2025 — Volunteers from UCLA and members of the Verdant Venice Group (VVG) fanned out across Sunset Avenue, Hampton Drive, and 3rd Street on Saturday morning to plant a variety of native and drought-tolerant trees as part of an ambitious effort to green the neighborhood and support local wildlife.

Janin Paine, a VVG member wearing an “I Speak for the Trees” T-shirt, explained that the day’s work was part of a larger “pollinator corridor” project coordinated with Councilwoman Traci Park’s office, the CD11 Foundation, and the Venice BID. “We’ve planted probably over 600 trees in Venice in the last six years, mostly with volunteer groups,” Paine said. “Today we’re planting Coast Live Oak, cassia, and chitalpa to create a continuous corridor for pollinators.”

The project included a process known as “depaving,” in which cement is removed to open soil for tree planting. “This area had wide parkways but a lot of unused cement,” Paine noted. “We got permits, removed the concrete, and secured urban forestry approvals for the new trees.” A busload of UCLA students joined local volunteers for the morning effort, part of VVG’s regular Saturday plantings and tree-care sessions held from 8 to 10 a.m. throughout Venice.

In addition to the tree planting, Paine highlighted a new community initiative funded by a grant from the county’s Safe Clean Water Program. VVG has developed watershed maps showing how stormwater flows through Venice and will host a workshop on October 8 to gather resident input on water-capture ideas. Suggestions range from small swales and tree wells to imaginative concepts such as restoring a natural river along Rose Avenue. “Because we’re so close to the ocean, unfiltered runoff is a big issue,” Paine said, noting the group’s interest in capturing both stormwater and underground “dewatering” flows from construction sites.

Saturday’s plantings add another link in Verdant Venice Group’s growing network of urban habitat. By combining native trees, pollinator pathways, and community engagement, the volunteers aim to reduce runoff, improve air quality, and create a healthier urban ecosystem for people and wildlife alike.

𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗚𝗘: Santa Monica Property Owner Uses Banner to Press City on Homeless Services Oversight

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Wednesday, September 24, 2025 — A large banner displayed on a storefront along the Third Street Promenade sparked discussion Wednesday for its pointed message about City Hall and a quotation attributed to Mayor Lana Negrete. The banner references former White House adviser and Santa Monica High School alumnus Stephen Miller and features a caption criticizing a past mayoral remark about his association with the city.

Property owner and local business operator John Alle said the installation is intended to press city leaders on public-safety concerns and oversight of homeless-services funding. “We’re asking the mayor and the city manager to acknowledge that we have a problem and to stop hiding it,” Alle said, describing the city as increasingly divided and fearful. “It doesn’t cost anything to listen.”

Alle, who is active with a public-safety advocacy group, argued that nonprofit contractors should substantiate outcomes before receiving additional grants. “Show your work — show the paperwork, the ledgers, how every dollar is spent,” he said, calling for audits of grantees and tighter follow-up by the city.

Pointing to recent incidents and service calls, Alle said police and fire responses tied to homelessness continue to strain resources. He also cited his group’s privately funded travel-assistance efforts. “In the last 12 weeks we sent 26 people home — by bus, train, or plane — with family ready to receive them,” Alle said, adding that the program documents each case.

The banner also reproduces a quote attributed to the mayor regarding Miller; Alle called the remark “disrespectful” and said it exemplifies a tone from city officials that he believes undermines collaboration. “We want greater accountability. Put new spending on hold until there’s a plan and a definition of success,” he said.

Santa Monica Closeup observed the banner affixed to the building façade in the 1300 block of the Promenade. City officials and service-provider agencies were not immediately available on scene for comment during the visit.

Santa Monica Closeup will continue monitoring reactions to the display and any response from the city

𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗛 𝗛𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗛 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗙𝗔𝗥: Chabad Rabbis Sound the Call for Jewish New Year on the Santa Monica Pier

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — September 23, 2025 — Members of Chabad in Simcha Monica gathered at the Santa Monica Pier on Tuesday to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. More than a dozen participants joined Rabbi Isaac and Eli Levitansky for a ceremony that began with the sounding of the shofar, a ram’s horn traditionally blown to mark the start of the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The piercing notes of the shofar carried across the pier and ocean, signaling a time of reflection and renewal.

The service included the Tashlich ritual, in which attendees cast pieces of bread into the ocean as a symbolic act of leaving past misdeeds behind. Rabbi Levitansky explained that the custom is rooted in a prophetic verse describing sins being “cast into the depths of the sea,” underscoring the opportunity to begin the new year with a clean slate.

Addressing the group, Levitansky reflected on the tradition of performing Tashlich near bodies of water where fish are present. He noted that fish, which never close their eyes, are seen as a reminder of divine watchfulness, while their ability to multiply symbolizes the hope for abundant blessings in the coming year. Their hidden presence beneath the surface, he added, serves as a metaphor for protection from harm.

As the ceremony concluded with prayers for peace, the community shared a quiet moment of unity and optimism. The gathering marked the arrival of the year 5786 on the Hebrew calendar, blending ancient tradition with the scenic backdrop of the Pacific Ocean.

𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗔 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘: New City-Run EMS Unit Hits the Streets

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Tuesday, September 23, 2025 — For the second day in a row, Santa Monica police officers and firefighters responded to a medical call involving a man in a wheelchair at Palisades Park. It appeared to be the same individual transported to a hospital the previous day.

This time, the man was cared for and transported by the Santa Monica Fire Department’s new in-house ambulance service, a pilot effort now in its second day of operation. Firefighters assessed the man’s condition on scene before transferring him to the hospital in the department’s Basic Life Support (BLS) unit.

Santa Monica Fire Battalion Chief-EMS Patrick Nulty explained that the program introduces a city-operated ambulance staffed by emergency medical technicians known as Ambulance Operators. These single-role EMTs drive the vehicle and provide basic life support care while working alongside firefighters and paramedics. Nulty said the initiative offers a valuable entry point for those pursuing careers in public safety and provides a cost-effective way to expand emergency response capabilities.

The new unit is expected to strengthen the city’s ability to handle non-critical medical calls and improve response times for residents and visitors alike.

Santa Monica Closeup continues to follow the rollout of this program and other public safety developments across the city.

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗙𝗢𝗖𝗨𝗦: Artist Daniel Alonzo Donates Five-Generation Portrait to Santa Monica’s Mexican Presence Project

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — September 20, 2025 — The Santa Monica Public Library marked the city’s 150th anniversary on Saturday with the debut of the Mexican Presence in Santa Monica Project, a community initiative documenting the history and influence of Mexican American families in the seaside city. The afternoon program, held in the Main Library’s Multipurpose Room at 601 Santa Monica Boulevard, introduced a team of local residents working to preserve family stories through historic images, oral histories, and other primary resources. Attendees viewed highlights from the Library’s Imagine Santa Monica local-history database, explored vintage photographs, and met families contributing to the growing archive. Among the most talked-about displays was a striking family portrait donated by artist and panelist Daniel Alonzo. The oversized image captured a 1980 family reunion picnic at Marine Park, where at least five generations of Alonzo’s relatives gathered for a group photo that resembles a giant class portrait. “It’s not a high school picture—it’s a reunion photo,” Alonzo explained, pointing out his grandmother, great-aunt, mother, sisters, and nieces within the crowd. He recalled organizing similar photos over three consecutive years and tracking down the same Glendale photography studio that once shot his ninth-grade class picture to capture the massive scene. Alonzo described the portrait as a testament to a once-thriving Mexican American community centered around St. Anne’s Church and deeply rooted in Santa Monica’s neighborhoods and canyons. “We always knew our place in Santa Monica, where we were at, but it was a thriving community that was well connected,” he said. The reunion photograph joins more than 2,000 historic images and documents—some dating back to the 1800s—now preserved in the Library’s online Imagine Santa Monica collection. Organizers encouraged residents to explore the digital archive and contribute their own family narratives to help tell the broader story of Santa Monica’s Mexican American heritage. For more information or to share materials, contact the Santa Monica Public Library at (310) 458-8600.

𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛: Santa Monica Police and Salvation Army Move Couple From Sand to Services

SANTA MONICA, CA — Wednesday, September 17, 2025 — Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) officers from the Homeless Liaison Program (HLP) conducted a coordinated outreach operation with the Salvation Army Corps Homeless Outreach Team on Santa Monica Beach Wednesday morning, engaging unhoused individuals in violation of Municipal Code Section 4.08.095, which prohibits camping in public areas.

Officers approached individuals along the shoreline, offering referrals to supportive services and issuing citations for public-camping violations. During the operation, one individual who had previously been advised and cited faced potential arrest. Instead, HLP officers persuaded the person to enter the Salvation Army’s Project Homecoming program, which reconnects participants with family or friends willing to provide permanent housing and support. The officer on scene described the effort as part of the Liaison Program’s partnership with the Salvation Army to help the couple return to their home community, assisting with packing their belongings into a police vehicle for transport to a service facility.

The HLP team—comprising one sergeant and six officers—works in partnership with the City Attorney’s Office, Santa Monica Fire Department, Human Services Division, and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health to connect people experiencing homelessness, substance-use issues, or mental-health crises to appropriate city and county resources.

Members of the Salvation Army outreach team emphasized the value of their ongoing collaboration with SMPD, noting that their crews regularly join officers in early-morning efforts to meet people where they are and offer available services. Team members said the two-year partnership has proven highly effective in reaching individuals who might otherwise go without assistance.

Project Homecoming provides transportation assistance for those willing to reunite with loved ones who can offer stable housing. Individuals seeking help can contact the HLP team at (310) 458-8953 for more information.

City officials say the joint effort highlights Santa Monica’s approach of balancing public-safety enforcement with compassionate outreach, aiming to uphold municipal regulations while linking vulnerable individuals to care. The Salvation Army continues to offer a range of services—including food, shelter, addiction treatment, counseling, and job training—through its local programs and wider Los Angeles network.

Santa Monica Closeup will continue monitoring city outreach efforts as part of the ongoing dialogue on homelessness and public safety along the coast.

𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡: Crews Remove Red Ironbark Eucalyptus in California Avenue Street Upgrade

SANTA MONICA — Monday, September 15, 2025 — The westbound lane of California Avenue between 7th and 5th Streets was closed today as crews from V&E Tree Service, Inc. began cutting down Red Ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon) trees from the center median. Tree work is expected to continue through Thursday, with intermittent lane closures as the operation moves block by block.

The removals mark the opening phase of the City of Santa Monica’s California Avenue Street Reconstruction project, a six-block initiative stretching from Ocean Avenue to 7th Street. City engineers say the work will repair pavement buckled by invasive tree roots, upgrade storm-drain systems, and improve overall roadway safety for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.

According to city documents, nineteen of the forty mature eucalyptus trees along the median will be taken down and ultimately replaced with a diverse mix of species—Silk-Floss, Arbutus Marina, and Chinese Flame—selected in consultation with the Urban Forest Task Force. The remaining trees will be pruned and maintained until the new plantings are established. Long-term plans call for a complete replacement of all forty median trees to reduce root intrusion and enhance species diversity.

In addition to tree work, the project includes new drainage improvements at 4th and 5th Streets, where frequent flooding has been a problem during heavy rains. Construction is expected to continue in stages through the summer of 2026, with periodic lane closures and parking restrictions as crews progress.

For project updates and background information, residents can visit santamonica.gov/california-ave-street-reconstruction.