Support Mid City Neighbors, renew your Membership: MidCityNeighbors.org
City Manager Rick Cole has selected Cynthia Renaud as Santa Monica's new Chief of Police; Mid City gets Tesla Motors drive-in restaurant with charging stations; BeautifyEarth.org brings Civic Love to Santa Monica; check out SMa.r.t.-Term Limits: The Heart of Democracy and the City wants your opinion on Rent Surcharges.

This Tuesday's board meeting features "Dr. Jo" and Elemental Music, Carlos Morales explaining the new 17th Street Pedestrian/Bike/Traffic Plan between Wilshire and Pico and Todd Flora from the Rent Control Board, to discuss pass-throughs by landlords. The Agenda is below.

SAVE THE DATE for our Annual Meeting, April 28th at Broad Stage, and our program "Homeless in Paradise" with guest panel including Alisa Orduña, Senior Advisor on Homelessness.

Term Limits
Facebook
Term Limits Petition Locations

Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors
Monthly Board Meetings
3rd Tuesday of each month
Colorado Center, Community Room
(across from Helen's Cycles)
2500 Broadway
Open to the Public, Refreshments, Validated Parking in the Building

MidCityNeighbors.org
SantaMonicaMidCityNeighbors@gmail.com

Dear Members and Neighbors,
Could Coogie's be leaving? What's up with those Birds? Could "term limits" really happen? Can we save the Santa Monica bungalow? Is crime up on your street? How about those love-bird California Sycamores? Will we ever have a new Police Chief? And then there's "medical" marijuana... Just another day in Mid City.
                                                        MidCityNeighbors.org
Questions from residents:
-Update on Bird Scooters: The basic who, what, why overview. (We were nearly hit by two in the past week so curious what’s up with them.)
-Update on Legal Marijuana and the Law (We encountered 8 men smoking a 12 inch bong on the bluffs next to road down to the Pier so curious what the city is doing to curb public smoking.)  
–What's with all the demolition of our corner retail shops?
–Can we ever build enough housing?
–Can we stop the auto dealerships from taking up all the parking?
Ask all your questions, get all our answers:
Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors Board Meeting
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
7 p.m.
Colorado Center Community Room
GUEST SPEAKERS
Lane Dilg, City Attorney, City of Santa Monica
Learn more about Lane Dilg
Mary Marlow

Chair, Santa Monica Transparency Project, co-author "Term Limits" initiative
Term Limits, SM Outlook
SMMCN Board of Directors
Stacy Dalgleish, President
Andrew Hoyer, Vice President and Government Affairs Officer
Ellen Hannan, Secretary
Nick Boles, Treasurer
Catherine Eldridge, Pico Neighborhood Liaison
Diane Citron, Member-at-large
William Hamilton, Member-at-large
Ken Blum, Member-at-large

Committees
Communications: Andrew Hoyer, William Hamilton
Hospitality: Diane Citron (Chair) Nick Boles
Beautify Broadway: Stacy Dalgleish (chair)
Friends of 11th Street: Susan Suntree (co-chair), Diane Miller (co-chair)
Youth Committee: Maryellen Osip, Grace Hunzick, Mari Ostendorf 
Speaker Coordinator: Liz Bell
Webmaster: John C. Smith

Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors
Monthly Board Meetings
3rd Tuesday of each month
Colorado Center, Community Room
(across from Helen's Cycles)
2500 Broadway
Open to the Public, Refreshments, Validated Parking in the Building

MidCityNeighbors.org
SantaMonicaMidCityNeighbors@gmail.com

Historic 11th Street Coalition
02 January 2018
Re:   Landmarks Commission Hearing on Whether to Recommend Establishing a New 11th Street Bungalow Historic District          
Dear Friends and Neighbors, On Monday, 8 January 2018, at 6:30 PM the Landmarks Commission will review a professional consultant’s report and public input regarding our proposed application for a new historic district in Santa Monica comprised of bungalows on 11th Street and Arizona Ave. At this meeting, they will decide whether to file the application for a historic district.  (Note: Public hearings will follow, leading to a vote when they can recommend that the City Council designate the district.)
Please send your short supportive email ASAP! Your emails need to be on the record!
If you can attend, that would be fantastic since our speakers need a supportive community presence. Please consider standing with us! The meeting on Monday, 8 January 2018, starts at 6:30 in Council Chambers at City Hall. Free parking in city lot on Olympic and Fourth. We'll all wear identifying stickers!Let us know if you're coming, and we will send a notification when we have an approximate time for our agenda item.
Email: Copy, paste, and send to the following:
margaret.bach@smgov.net; dolores.sloan@smgov.net; richard.brand@smgov.net; ruth.shari@smgov.net;barry.rosenbaum@smgov.net; amybeth.green@smgov.net; stephanie.reich@smgov.net; steve.mizokami@smgov.net; wendy.radwan@smgov.net
OR send your email ASAP to us at  historic11th@gmail.com and we will forward your message.
Sample short letter/format: 
Date: _______   Re: Historic 11th Street Bungalow District
Dear Chair O’Neill and Commissioners:
My name is _________. I live/work/visit Santa Monica. I strongly support the 11th Street Bungalow Historic District.
Suggested talking points:

• This is a collection of historic treasures, built from 1904 to 1925 by middle class residents who made Santa Monica not just a resort but a hometown.
• The bungalows have been identified on the city’s Historic Resource Inventory in 1983 and 1990 as being contributors to a potential historic district.
• There is no other group of these iconic homes within the original heart of our city (Ocean Ave. to 19th St. and Wilshire to Colorado). In 1913 there were 442; in 1983 there were 88 potential landmark quality homes; in 1989 they were reduced to 19. Today there is a cluster of 6, all on the same block.
• Residents have been trying to save this important piece of history since the 1980s.

ï Especially now during this time when Santa Monica is experiencing wholesale destruction of historic buildings and neighborhoods, we need to protect the very few resources that have survived. 
ïThe Landmarks Commission's role is to protect our cultural, social, and architectural history and promote the use of landmarks and historic districts for the education and pleasure of the residents, workers and visitors of the city.

• Please recommend that the City Council designate these homes as the Historic 11th Street Bungalow District.
• Your signature and address.
  
  

Thank you! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us: historic11th@gmail.com
Or visit us: http://www.facebook.com/historic11thstreetcoalition


With gratitude! 
The Historic 11th Street Coalition, Diane Miller and Susan Suntree, Co-Chairs
Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors
http://midcityneighbors.nationbuilder.com/

SMMCN Board of Directors
Stacy Dalgleish, President
Andrew Hoyer, Vice President and Government Affairs Officer
Ellen Hannan, Secretary
Nick Boles, Treasurer
Catherine Eldridge, Pico Neighborhood Liaison
Diane Citron, Member-at-large
William Hamilton, Member-at-large
Ken Blum, Member-at-large

Committees
Communications: Andrew Hoyer, William Hamilton
Hospitality: Diane Citron (Chair) Nick Boles
Beautify Broadway: Stacy Dalgleish (chair)
Friends of 11th Street: Susan Suntree (co-chair), Diane Miller (co-chair)
Youth Committee: Maryellen Osip, Grace Hunzick, Mari Ostendorf 
Speaker Coordinator: Liz Bell
Webmaster: John C. Smith

Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors
Monthly Board Meetings
3rd Tuesday of each month
Colorado Center, Community Room
(across from Helen's Cycles)
2500 Broadway
Open to the Public, Refreshments, Validated Parking in the Building

MidCityNeighbors.org
SantaMonicaMidCityNeighbors@gmail.com

Program includes, In Conversation With, Dr. Ashley Benjamin, Principal, McKinley Elementary School; Homelessness Update; Crime Report and our monthly, 
Hot Topic!. 

Dr. Benjamin while new to our Mid City Neighborhood, formerly was the assistant principal at SMMUSD's Franklin Elementary School for 3 years. After working in the L.A. Unified School District, gaining expertise in effective research-based instruction strategies for diverse learners, Benjamin has received numerous teaching awards, and is described as "an all-around great addition to the Santa Monica school environment". Multi-degreed, with a B.S., B.A., M.A. and Ed.D. in Education and Gender & Diversity, Principal Benjamin will share updates on McKinley's new Theater program, Parent Workshops as well as upcoming volunteer opportunities, and, wrote to say, "I look forward to meeting you and fellow neighbors". 

After last month's meeting, filled with many new faces, we will continue to discuss Homelessness in Santa Monica. I am very appreciative to all of you who attended, and especially to those who brought personal experiences to this ongoing issue. SMPD's Officer Gus Cortez gives the Crime Report and Board-members will bring us up-to-date on Committee involvement including The Mural Project and new businesses in Mid City.

Our Board wishes you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving!

See you down the road,

Stacy

Stacy Dalgleish
President, Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors

SAVE THE DATE
December 19th, 2017
Mid City Neighbors' Holiday Party

SAVE THE DATE: MAKE MUSIC DAY, JUNE 21, 2017, Colorado Center

Just in time for Earth Day, tonight's April meeting is full of useful information on the new Earthquake Retrofit requirements and how the costs will be passed to renters; the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan; the upcoming Water Neutrality Ordinance and how to use the City's phone app (GO SMGOV) to report just about anything.

The Climate Action and Adaptation Plan sets ambitious goals for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction, energy efficiency, water conservation, and waste reduction. Sustainable living is important to protecting the environment for our families and the future but can also be financially beneficial. The City of Santa Monica is looking for any ideas and suggestions to make sustainable living more accessible to all residents. Kim O'Cain, Senior Sustainability Analyst, City of Santa Monica’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment and Delia Terrell, CivicSpark Fellow, City of Santa Monica, Office of Sustainability and the Environment will present. For previous presentation go to: https://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/OSE/Categories/Water/Water%20Neutrality%20Public%20Mtg%204_6_17.pdf

The Water Neutrality Ordinance comes before City Council on May 9, 2017. The goal is for Santa Monica to become completely water self sufficient.

The City's GO SMGOV phone app (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/go-smgov/id495988202?mt=8) has been used by many – some who love it and some who love it, less.  Liz Bell will talk about her experience and how it she used it to make a difference in her neighborhood.                                             
Todd Flora, fellow Mid City resident and Commissioner, Santa Monica Rent Control Board, will present and answer questions about the pass-thru to renters of Earthquake Retrofit expenses and Small Site Stabilization loans.

In a related study, you can read the Luskin IMPACT Report on Climate Action, Advanced Transportation, Clean Energy, Sustainable Water and Digital Technologies at:
http://innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/IMPACT%202016%20032317-0900.pdf


See you down the road,
Stacy

Stacy Dalgleish
President, Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors


This Thursday, April 20, is Earth Day and Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors will be part of the Earth Day Fair 2017 at the Colorado Center. Santa Monica Mid City board members, Ellen Hannan, Andrew Hoyer will be there so stop by and say hello!



This weekend, Kidical Mass Bike Ride and Ride with Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer: 

We traveled 64,033 miles last month!
Congrats Breeze, let's keep moving!
 
Save the Date:
April 22
Kidical Mass
 
Celebrate Earth Day with a family bike ride! 
 
Saturday, April 22
9am - 11am
Memorial Park
RSVP to: RSVP@SMSpoke.org
 
Save the Date:
April 23 
April Ride with the Mayor

Santa Monica is bringing you another Ride with the Mayor!

We're going to ride along the beach path to visit the Beach Restoration Pilot Project for a presentation with The Bay Foundation and the Annenberg Community Beach House. 
 
Sunday, April 23
9am - 11am
2400 Ocean Front Walk (Perry's Cafe) 
~ 4 miles 
 How do you use the Beach Path? 
Take the City of Santa Monica's quick survey so we can improve it!

Take Survey
 
Got a problem? Yo, we'll solve it: info@BreezeBikeShare.com (310) 828-2525 www.breezebikeshare.com

Next week, 
How to raise happy, healthy, and successful kids - make a reservation for this free event at http://friendsofthesemelinstitute.org/calendar.html

  
The Friends of the Semel Institute for 
Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA 
Figuring out how to raise happy, healthy, and successful kids can be overwhelming.  Parents often find themselves wading through tons of conflicting advice.  Books that outline a “right way” of doing things can leave even the most dedicated caregiver feeling discouraged and inadequate when real life doesn’t measure up. An experienced psychiatrist and founder of the Center for Reflective Communities, Regina Pally serves up something totally different in The Reflective Parent.  She argues that the key to successful parenting is to have a strong relationship with your child. This requires parents to to slow down,  reflect, and recognize that there is no one right way to parent.
Pally synthesizes the latest neuroscience research to show that our brain’s natural tendencies to empathize, analyze, and connect with others are all we need to be good parents. Each chapter weaves together discussions of specific reflective parenting principles like “Tolerate Uncertainty” and “Repair Ruptures” with engaging explanations of the science that backs them up.  Brief “Take Home Lessons” at the end of each chapter and vivid examples of parents and children putting the principles into action make this a practical guide for anyone looking to build loving, lasting relationships with their kids.
Tuesday, April 25
Semel Auditorium, UCLA 
Check-in 6:30 PM   |   Program 7:00 PM
Admission is free but reservations are required. http://friendsofthesemelinstitute.org/calendar.html

Parking is available for $12 in Structure 9 
 



We've Moved!
 
Come visit our new location just a few blocks away.
 
 
Parking at: 1334 5th St., Santa Monica, CA 90401.
The hours of operation will remain the same. Monday – Friday: 7:30am – 5:30pm
Questions? Please call us at 310-451-5444.
 
See you at the new location!
 
1444 4th St., Santa Monica, CA 90401 
Call us: (310) 451-5444 | Contact us via GO | Visit us: www.bigbluebus.com 

Film screenings of "SOLD" raise awareness of local Sex Trafficking tradeBy Kate Cagle, Daily Press Staff Writer on March 11, 2017
The film takes place far away in Nepal and India, but to local activists the issue hits close to home. “It’s very enlightening, I think,” said RoseMary Regalbuto who is bringing the movie “SOLD” to Santa Monica for free screenings next month.  “I think people are not aware of how much of a problem this is. This is a way to open their eyes.” In the movie, 13-year-old Lakshmi leaves her home in rural Nepal and ends up in a gritty brothel in Kolkata. The 2014 film comes from Academy Award winners Jeffrey Brown (director) and Emma Thompson (executive producer) who hoped to inspire a global movement to address the word’s fastest growing business: sex trafficking. It is based on a novel by the same name by Patricia McCormick.
Santa Monica Rotarian Regalbuto hopes the film will raise awareness about the problem of sex trafficking here in the Los Angeles area.  She has gotten the rights to screen the film and is bringing it to locations all over Santa Monica for free. Panels discussing the local impact of sex trafficking will follow some screenings. Regalbuto says awareness is crucial to the cause. “If people are aware they can see the signs of trafficking and they can help that victim,” Regalbuto said.
In Los Angeles, underage girls and boys are frequently advertised on the Internet but are difficult for law enforcement to track down.  For that reason, the odds of a victim being rescued is just one in 100, according to the organization ERASE child trafficking.  The group estimates in the United States alone over 100,000 kids are trafficked into slavery. In Santa Monica, the City Attorney’s Office has reached out to 48 local businesses where victims might pass to post flyers with hotline information victims can call.
So far, Urgent Care centers, bars, massage parlors, bus stations, train stations are required to participate and post the flyers, according to Deputy City Attorney Gary Rhoades. However, after receiving the posters in October, only 25 out of the 48 business owners are currently in compliance according to a recent audit by the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST). “Studies have shown these posters increase the amount of reporting,” Rhoades said. “It’s giving people a number to call, whether it’s a witness or the actual victim.” The City is also reaching out to ride services like taxi companies and Uber and Lyft to educate drivers on sex trafficking. While the companies are not required to participate, Rhoades says drivers can be a frontline to stop trafficking in the act. “Not only can the drivers be the eyes and ears of the community, but traffickers often use taxis to transport victims,” Rhoades wrote in a recent column that appeared in the Daily Press adding, “the drivers may help save a victim.”
The following screening of SOLD is open to the public for free and will include a panel discussion on Sex Trafficking in the Los Angeles area:
April 26:  ArcLight, 395 Santa Monica Place, 7:30 p.m.kate@smdp.com
http://smdp.com/film-screenings-raise-awareness-of-local-sex-trafficking-trade/160050

SMMCN Board of Directors
Stacy Dalgleish, President
Andrew Hoyer, Vice President and Government Affairs Officer
Ellen Hannan, Treasurer
Stefani Kong Uhler, Secretary and Communications Officer
Catherine Eldridge, Pico Neighborhood Liaison
Cathy Huh, Member-at-large
Nick Boles, Member-at-large

Committees
Communications: Stefani Uhler (chair), Andrew Hoyer, William Hamilton
Hospitality: Cathy Huh (chair), Nick Boles, Diane Citron
Beautify Broadway: Stacy Dalgleish (chair)
Friends of 11th Street: Susan Suntree (co-chair), Diane Miller (co-chair)
Webmaster: John C. Smith


Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors
Monthly Board Meetings
DAY OF MONTH HAS CHANGED!
3rd Tuesday of each month
Colorado Center, Community Room
(across from Helen's Cycles)
2500 Broadway
Open to the Public, Refreshments, Validated Parking in the Building

MidCityNeighbors.org
SantaMonicaMidCityNeighbors@gmail.com

Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors · United States 
This email was sent to johncysmith@gmail.com. To stop receiving emails, click here.

Dear City Council,

​Before you proceed with this amendment I think you need a written opinion from the city attorney in regards to whether or not this violates state law concerning volunteers and volunteer organizations.

I often wonder what our city staff is thinking when they meet with the lobbyists regarding changes to rules that regulate them but then do not meet with the neighborhood organizations they intend to impose these rules upon. Does this not imply unfair and improper treatment?

As I have pointed out in the past in an Item 14 statement my organization cannot even include the hours that I frequently spend here as part of the matching funds from the city grant. It is patently absurd that I should have to register as a lobbyist when neither my organization nor I get paid in any way, shape, or form to perform these functions. (In fact, we are not allowed to use the grant funds for anything other than increasing our membership.) And if you move forward with this regulation of my organization can we then pay the lobbying fees with the city grant funds?
 
And why, specifically, are unions exempted from this regulation? All of their leaders who have spoken out on items before you are definitely paid to do so by their union. I am a firm supporter of unions but they must register their lobbyists as well. Obviously this should not include their rank and file members who come to express their concerns.

I wish I could be there tonight to listen to your deliberations regarding this matter but unfortunately our organization's monthly open board meeting for membership is being held tonight.  I sincerely hope that you do not need the wisdom of Solomon to realize that these changes are not an improvement to the existing regulation.

Thank you,
Andrew Hoyer
SMMCN Board Vice President & Govt Affairs Officer