Dear Members,
 
Your Mid-City Neighbors Board has voted to hold our Annual Meeting on September 15, 2020. We will have up to five vacant seats to fill (out of nine).  One current member will still be running (Ellen Hannan) but two would rather not.  We have been operating with only seven board members out of a possible nine for over a year so we have lots of room at the table for all who desire to get involved. How about YOU? We have streamlined the nomination process to accommodate the COVID-19 situation.  Please contact us as soon as possible if you are interested.

To vote in our Annual Meeting you must have paid your dues between January 1, 2020 and August 18, 2020.  Dues can be paid through our website using PayPal or a credit card with this link:
 https://midcityneighbors.weebly.com/join-or-renew.html
or you can print out the form on that page and mail it in.  Please remember that we no longer receive any money from the city to support our organization and we have the lowest dues of any of the seven city-recognized community neighborhood organizations.  Every little bit you can spare counts!

Below is the information that you will need to join the meeting by computer or by phone:  

To join by computer all you need to do is click on this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83898347879

To join us by Phone (landline or non-smart mobile):
Dial this Phone Number 1 (669) 900-6833
Then enter this Meeting ID Number: 838 9834 7879 and #

We hope to see then!
Andrew Hoyer
SMMCN Board President & Govt Affairs Officer

Our website is updated daily with Santa Monica news.  Here is the link:
https://midcityneighbors.weebly.com
 

AGENDA
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
7:00 PM

1. Overview of Zoom Interface
2. Welcome & Introductions
3. Discussion with Mayor Kevin McKeown & Councilmember Gleam Davis
   1. TBD
   2. TBD
   3. TBD
   4. Other Questions
4. Minutes
5. Treasurer's Report
6. Community Resource Officer - Robert Galvan
7. General Discussion
8. Adjournment

Copyright © 2020 SMMCN, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
santamonicamidcityneighbors@gmail.com

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​Dear Members,
    First I need to apologize to everyone.  I have re-constituted our email list and some of you may have already asked to unsubscribe.  I hope I got most of those removed and hopefully I have added members who were inextricably dropped.

Second, street sweeping begins again tomorrow, Monday August 3, 2020.  Street sweeping will only be occurring on the first week of the month for now.

Third, you may have noticed many restaurants building dining areas in the street parking spaces.  This started on Main Street but is now occurring throughout the city.  It is an attempt to allow some of these businesses to survive these trying times and it is also allowing some people to earn money again.  The Montana Avenue Merchants Association has put together a survey to gather input.  If you would like to participate here is a link to the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/66T6YZS

Fourth, the city has moved forward with their plans to continue development at 4th/5th & Arizona.  The plans may change a bit but the end result will be the same.  At least one city councilmember had the sense to vote no on something that has already been pointed out as being illegal.  Thank Sue Himmelrich the next time you see her.  I have included a notice sent out by the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City at the bottom that provides more details.

Tomorrow I will send out a notice concerning the housing bills up in Sacramento.

Thanks,
Andrew Hoyer
SMMCN Board President & Govt Affairs Officer
 
July 31, 2020

Dear Supporter of SMCLC,

This past Tuesday night the City Council voted 6-1 (Himmelrich the sole dissenter) to plow ahead with negotiations for a massive commercial hotel/office project on City-owned land at 4th and Arizona. Its action was irresponsible, illegal and contrary to the wishes of most Santa Monicans. It demonstrated anew the abiding power developers (and those special interests who benefit from their projects) hold with our City government.

SMCLC will now take legal action to enforce the important state law that requires our city to prioritize public land for open space and affordable housing over an ultra-luxury commercial project like this one. This is particularly important here, with a massive, out-of-scale project that essentially privatizes OUR public land, and will add 5,000 daily car trips, crippling our already congested downtown.

Here’s the good news: For over a month, the City weighed SMCLC’s legal letter explaining multiple reasons it would be illegal for the City to continue negotiations without complying with the law. At the Council hearing, several Councilmembers openly recognized the substantial legal risk the Council was now taking:

Himmelrich: “I think it’s illegal. I think that it poses great risk to the city.”
Winterer: “I’m concerned about the legal risk."
McCowan: “I am really conflicted about the potential legal issues. I’m conflicted as someone who remembers projects that didn’t go the way we as a community were promised.”

It’s very unfortunate that the City, instead of following the law, turned to an expedient solution – push on and agree to the developer’s offer to indemnify the City and pay the legal costs due once SMCLC wins. 

Take away: Our legal position is very strong. The City is acting illegally. It abdicated its responsibility to follow the state law. Now it’s up to residents to do what the City should have done - the right thing - and vindicate the legally required process for our public land. 

Please forward this email to your friends and neighbors to sign up for updates and join in our efforts.
 
Thank you,

Victor, Diana, Sherrill, and Jeff
Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City | http://smclc.net
 
Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City | 1112 Montana Ave. #174, Santa Monica, CA 90403

Dear Members,
   Things seemed to be quite a bit calmer last night.  I heard reports that the police were at our eastern border at the start of the curfew (1:00 pm) and were stopping cars as they were coming in from the protests in West Hollywood and West LA.

The City of Santa Monica has issued another curfew for today starting at 2:00 pm and lasting until tomorrow morning at 5:30 am.  I have also received an email from councilmember Ted Winterer with an update on what's happened in the city.  I've included his comments below.

The police department is asking that people reserve 911 for life-threatening emergencies.  If you see something you think they should know about, please call SMPD Dispatch at (310) 458-8491.

Follow this link for more info from the city.
https://www.santamonica.gov/Recovery

We will make it better,
Andrew Hoyer
SMMCN Board President & Govt Affairs Officer 
Key Messages from Ted Winterer:

• Curfew in Santa Monica went into effect yesterday at 1:30 pm until 5:30 am. County curfew is in effect from 6 pm to 6 am. (Today's starts at 2:00 pm)
• Santa Monica Police Department in partnership with the National Guard is protecting the safety of everyone in our City. This is an “ALL CALL” a full deployment with significant mutual aid on the ground right now protecting every major corridor and the downtown.
• We will not stand for criminal behavior of any kind. We have made arrests for not abiding by curfew orders, though by and large our residents are at home.
• We are a City that comes together to face tough situations. We care deeply about all members of our community – residents, businesses, and those who work here. 
• The property damage and disrespect that some of our businesses experienced is devastating. To business and property owners. We are calling businesses one by one to assess damage and to ensure they know we are here for them and we will get through this tomorrow.
• Santa Monica is a community that stands in solidarity with the outcry for change and need to end systemic racism in our country. 
• We share in the grief and outrage at the killing of George Floyd, and the far too many men and women of color who came before him whose lives were unjustly taken. We stand united against police brutality and institutional racism.  
• We will work together as a community to, one foot in front of the other, and we will get through this.
• An extraordinary showing of love for Santa Monica is visible on our streets. Hundreds of community volunteers have come out in mass throughout the city to clean up the events of last night with their own brooms, tools, and trash bags. City leadership cannot express enough gratitude. 
• To report damage or to report criminal activity, including videos and photos. Please email those to info@santamonica.gov. Our hotline is now focused on COVID and recovery. It is open at 310-458-8400 until 8 p.m. tonight. Will resume Mon-Fri 8A-5P tomorrow, June 2.
• At this time, we ask for your patience, as Santa Monica Police Department is unable to receive or send officers to respond to report calls for property-related incidents where there is no suspect, or if the suspect is no longer present. If you need to file a report, please wait and report at a later date.  Please keep the non-emergency and 911 lines open to report in-progress or life-threatening incidents only.  

Situation Status: 
--We have a unified command in place with Santa Monica Police Department, Santa Monica Fire Department, and mutual aid agencies.  
--Emergency Operations Center is fully activated. 
--National Guard officers – 130 
--Public safety on site: 

• Entire Santa Monica Police and Fire Departments are fully deployed. This is an “ALL CALL” in Santa Monica. 

• Santa Barbara County Sheriffs, Culver City 

--We have made some arrests for not following curfew, but by and large people are abiding.
--Northbound 4th and 5th Street exit on the I-10 is closed.  
--Downtown parking structures are closed.
--Physical barricades in key areas of our downtown are in place. All downtown public parking structures are closed.   
--BBB service ended at noon today.  
--All rideshare service (Uber, Lyft) into and within Santa Monica is suspended. 
--Damage assessment teams have completed structure by structure along all Santa Monica roads citywide. As of 3 p.m. Monday June 1st there have been 347 damage reports submitted to the City. 

• 84 reports of graffiti
• reports of damage to retail businesses; 155 of which have significant damage 
• We plan on calling the 155 businesses with significant damage starting this afternoon to get further details on cost of damages, and cost of property stolen.

The City will issue updates by SMAlerts, through social media, and email. We recommend you sign up to any or all of these channels:   

• Santa Monica emergency alerts:  www.santamonica.gov/alerts  or text SMALERTS to 888-777    
• SaMoNews community email:  www.santamonica.gov/newsletter    
• Report requests for service through the “Santa Monica Works” App found at santamonica.gov/works. 
• Follow @SantaMonicaCity on  Facebook  and  Instagram  and @SantaMonicaCity on  Twitter.  

Copyright © 2020 SMMCN, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
santamonicamidcityneighbors@gmail.com

​Dear Members,
  I hope this letter finds you well and safe at home.  I think that if I have two more undisturbed weeks at home I may actually run out of projects to finish up.  (I'm sure my wife will find more for me to do....)

Moving on, I know that I mentioned last month that we would have our next meeting tonight using virtual technology but some of us are not quite up to speed on that yet.  So we are moving the meeting to next Tuesday, April 28, 2020.  We will be using the ZOOM platform so please download the app before then so you can join us.  

We chose ZOOM so those without computer access can join via phone (even a landline will work.) We will send out more instructions the day before. If you need help setting up, please email us and we will reach out this weekend. The conference line will be open for attendees to arrive as early as 6:45pm.

Meeting ID: 920 0496 1037
Phone Number +16699006833

Our Community Resource Officer, Edgar Navarro will be joining us as well.  If you have some questions you would like him to be prepared to answer please send them now so we can forward them on.

Andrew Hoyer
SMMCN Board President & Govt Affairs Officer
 

LINKS FOR COVID-19 UPDATES
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION
https://www.cdc.gov

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
https://www.cdph.ca.gov

LA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov

US CONGRESSMAN TED LIEU
https://lieu.house.gov/coronavirus

STATE SENATOR BEN ALLEN
https://sd26.senate.ca.gov/sites/sd26.senate.ca.gov/files/e_alert/20200317_SD26_information_2397.htm

SANTA MONICA information and announcements about COVID-19:
https://www.santamonica.gov/coronavirus

 

Don't forget that your dues expired on December 31, 2019.  If you have not renewed your membership since that time then please take a moment to do so now.  Follow this link to join or renew your membership:
https://midcityneighbors.weebly.com/join-or-renew.html

If our Annual Meeting will be on May 30, 2020 then you must have paid your dues by April 30, 2020 in order to be considered a voting member.  If you would like to run for a seat on the board please let us know ASAP as there are a few minor requirements that need to be met and we can get you through it quickly.  I like that our board has a diverse array of members and would like to see that trend continue.

Thank you for caring about your neighborhood!
Andrew Hoyer
SMMCN Board President & Govt Affairs Officer
Copyright © 2020 SMMCN, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
santamonicamidcityneighbors@gmail.com

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March 26 City of Santa Monica Update from Council member Sue Himmelrich:
·       Santa Monica has 18 confirmed cases of coronavirus today, a modest increase from 16 yesterday. Our hospitals remain at normal capacity as Countywide current hospitalizations for coronavirus is at just 43 (the cumulative total of 160 also counts those who’ve been treated and released)
 
·       Our coronavirus hotline – (310) 458-8400 is handling a large volume of calls along with our special email info@santamonica.gov
 
·       The Federal stimulus package unfortunately provides direct funding only to communities over 500,000.  We will have to apply through whatever mechanism and formula our State devises for aid beyond specific reimbursement for emergency costs through FEMA.
 
·        Local hospitals and clinics are providing testing to those with symptoms.  LA is doing the same with drive-through sites by online appointment. Currently doing about 1000 tests a day citywide, as they ramp up to their goal of 5000 a day, they expect to open it up to all County residents.  Our staff visited one of their sites, where individuals drive up, self-administer the tests in their vehicles and then deposit them in a bag for forwarding to a test lab.  The nearest site to Santa Monica is Jackie Robinson Stadium at the VA near UCLA.
 
·       While prisoners are being released from County jail, crime continues to be lower than normal.
 
·       Beaches and recreation areas continue to be an issue.  We collaborated with LA to close off the two staircases off Adelaide that descend to the Santa Monica Canyon.  LA closed the popular Runyan Canyon trail.  South Bay cities are announcing a beach closure.  Despite rumors, County Public Health has not advised beach or trail closures, only social distancing.
 
·       Construction continues to be an issue. We continue to clarify that virtually all construction remains an exempted “essential” activity under both State and County orders.
 
·       The City Council is cancelling the regular April 14 meeting.  The next anticipated meeting will be April 28 and will be conducted online.


·        We have expanded our map showing restaurants with take-out to cover a range of essential services (grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies, and more) including special hours.
 
·       Clean Power Alliance shares this info for electricity customers:  The one-stop shop for customers to take advantage of these measures is the SCE bill payment assistance call center at 800-655-4555.
 
o   For customers economically impacted by Covid-19 fallout, a variety of flexible payment plans are available. Via SCE’s call center, customers can self-identify as being impacted and be put on a payment plan that covers both the CPA side and the SCE side of the bill. Customers do not have to signup separately with CPA and these payment plans are not limited to low-income customers but to anyone who needs it.
 
o    Low income customers – i.e. those who are on CARE rates – are eligible for up to $100 of grant assistance to pay their bills. SCE administers this program and CPA’s CARE customers are eligible. Customers should call SCE to request this assistance.
 
o    Also suspended are eligibility checks to sign up for CARE. So, if a customer is newly eligible or is just learning about the program, signing up for CARE has been further streamlined and those customers are eligible for a 30% bill discount going forward. This application may be completed online at https://www.sce.com/apps/iqp
 
o    Disconnections for non-payment of bills have been suspended and late-payment fees have been waived. This is automatic, applies to both CPA and SCE charges, and customers do not have to do have to do anything to receive this protection. This protection does not mean that charges are waived, only the penalties are suspended, so we highly encourage customers who are having trouble paying their bills to take advantage of the payment plans and financial assistance being offered.
 
·       The County has prepared updated versions of “Frequently Asked Questions” on #StayAtHome in English and Spanish. See https://covid19.lacounty.gov/covid19/safer-at-home-faq/.
 
·       Property taxes: Some have asked about relief from property taxes on April 10. It appears that no such relief is in sight. From the County Assessor’s page, I copied the following (this is a partial clip):

 
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Impact to Property Taxes Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Prepared by the County of Los Angeles Tax Collector  
 
1. Can you extend the April 10, 2020 deadline?
 
Answer: No.  The County does not have the authority under State law to extend or postpone the second installment property tax deadline of April 10, 2020. 
 
2. County buildings are no longer open to the public, what are my payment options?
Answer: Although we are not accepting in-person payments currently at our offices, taxpayers can pay online, via telephone or by mail.  There is no cost for e-Check payments online.  For online credit/debit card transactions, our card payment processor charges a 2.25 percent service fee. Please visit https://ttc.lacounty.gov/ to review all payment methods, and several other online self-service options.
 
3. What if I am unable to make a full property tax payment by April 10, 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19? 
 
Answer: We encourage all property owners who can pay their taxes on time to do so. This revenue helps keep the government running and providing vital services that the public relies on, especially in times like these.  However, if you are unable to do so, we accept partial payments which reduces the amount of penalties imposed.
 
4. Can I request a penalty cancellation if I am unable to make a timely payment due to COVID-19?
 
Answer: Yes.  However, a penalty cancellation is not something that taxpayers request in advance. Beginning on April 11, the day after property taxes become delinquent, taxpayers unable to pay on time for reasons related to COVID-19 may submit a request for penalty cancellation on our website. The department has set up a special team to process these requests for those who demonstrate they were affected by the outbreak.

ReplyReply allForward

Hello Members,

It's time for our 1st Monday Happy Hour on March 2, 2020.  Let's meet at El Cholo on Wilshire & 11th from 5:00-7:00 pm.  We'll invite our friends over in Wilmont to join us and have a good time munching on Mexican food and slaking our thirst with the beverage of your choice.

Don't forget that your dues expired on December 31, 2019.  If you have not renewed your membership since that time then please take a moment to do so now.  Follow this link to join or renew your membership: https://midcityneighbors.weebly.com/join.html 

Our Annual Meeting will be on April 25, 2020 and you must have paid your dues by March 26, 2020 in order to be considered a voting member.  If you would like to run for a seat on the board please let us know ASAP as there are a few minor requirements that need to be met and we can get you through it quickly.  I like that our board has a diverse array of members and would like to see that trend continue.

Thank you for caring about your neighborhood!
Andrew Hoyer
SMMCN Board President & Govt Affairs Officer