Santa Monica Observer

09/26/2026

California Dance Institute and Westside Ballet Launch the Pathways Partnership, a First-of-Its-Kind Route from Westside Classrooms to Full Ballet Scholarships - After a pilot year at two Title I schools with the first Pathways scholar now training at Westside School of Ballet, the NSI-supported collaboration adds a third school this fall, toward 20 schools and 40 scholarships a year by 2030.

https://www.smobserved.com/story/2026/09/28/lifestyle/california-dance-institute-and-westside-ballet-launch-the-pathways-partnership-a-first-of-its-kind-route-from-westside-classrooms-to-full-ballet-scholarships/10130.html

09/25/2026

Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica, has been the site of several serious pedestrian collisions in Santa Monica in recent years. Several involved older adults.

SANTA MONICA - An 82-year-old woman remained in critical condition Friday after she was struck by a turning vehicle Thursday evening in a marked crosswalk at 5th Street and Wilshire Boulevard, police said. The collision happened about 5:47 p.m. Thursday. According to a preliminary Santa Monica Polic...

09/24/2026

Starbucks on Main Street Closes Permanently on Saturday; Location Had No Seating, Bathroom
“We have made the difficult decision to close this location permanently,” she said. “The current Starbucks top management wants to open locations with seating."

The Starbucks on Santa Monica’s Main Street will close permanently on Saturday, ending another chapter in the coffee chain’s uneasy presence along the Ocean Park commercial strip. The shop never offered what customers once expected from the brand: no tables, no couches, and no restroom. Store ma...

09/18/2026

Cougar in the City: Mountain lion captured after roaming San Francisco's Outer Sunset - SAN FRANCISCO - A mountain lion wandered through a residential stretch of the Outer Sunset on Friday morning, 9/18/26, prompting an emergency alert, a multi-agency response, and an eventual capture just blocks from the ocean.

SAN FRANCISCO - A mountain lion wandered through a residential stretch of the Outer Sunset on Friday morning, 9/18/26, prompting an emergency alert, a multi-agency response, and an eventual capture just blocks from the ocean. The animal was first reported near 44th Avenue and Ulloa Street. Video cir...

09/15/2026

Lawsuit Challenges Santa Monica's Exclusive Talks With AEG Over Civic Auditorium - A newly filed Los Angeles Superior Court case asks a judge to examine how the City of Santa Monica moved into exclusive negotiations with AEG Presents and its Goldenvoice subsidiary over the long-shuttered Civic Auditorium.

A newly filed Los Angeles Superior Court case asks a judge to examine how the City of Santa Monica moved into exclusive negotiations with AEG Presents and its Goldenvoice subsidiary over the long-shuttered Civic Auditorium. Joseph DiRosa, a local entrepreneur who has promoted a competing conference-...

09/15/2026

Per Derrick Townsend, Caroline Torosis has not commented publicly on whether she is for or against the proposal for a 20,000 seat stadium on Airport land. However, she has met with Santa Monica Football Club, the proposed developer.

SANTA MONICA — Mayor Caroline Torosis says the story that put her in the room for a 20,000-seat stadium pitch on the Santa Monica Airport land is wrong. In an email Monday, Torosis said she “was not in attendance at any such event referenced.” She said she gave opening remarks at a builders br...

09/13/2026

The Win-Dow Restaurant Has Opened on Montana Avenue, and Santa Monica is lining up To Go Through It
Smash burgers mean the beef is smashed hard onto a ripping-hot flat top so the edges go lacy and crisp while the center stays juicy. It is diner technique with Westside polish.

At 930 Montana Ave, the latest outpost of the Venice-born smash-burger favorite opened with the kind of energy that turns a sidewalk into a social event. The line snakes out the door most days. It is the living punchline to Yogi Berra's old line: nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded. People g...

09/13/2026

The Undisclosed Incident Theory: "Something clearly happened with a frontier AI model that hasn't been made public and it spooked them so much that it made Elon Musk, Dario Amodei, and Sam Altman all simultaneously agree to slow down." Keith Edwards.

09/07/2026

Santa Monica City Council will Award Contract to Wreck 14th Street for Traffic on Tuesday Night September 9th. Write your councilmember today.

Santa Monica City Council is set to green-light the next concrete-and-bike-lane makeover Tuesday night - this time on 14th Street. On the consent calendar for the 5:30 p.m. meeting is a nearly $2 million design contract with Kimley-Horn for a "14th Street Two-way Protected Bikeway." Staff wants Coun...

09/07/2026

"On Tuesday, September 8, 2026 the Santa Monica City Council will vote on an ordinance implementing SB 79 development standards.
The Pico Neighborhood Association (PNA) Board of Directors strongly opposes Option 1. Our opposition is rooted in the history and reality of environmental racism in the Pico Neighborhood."

Dear Editor: On Tuesday, September 8, 2026 the Santa Monica City Council will vote on an ordinance implementing SB 79 development standards. The Pico Neighborhood Association (PNA) Board of Directors strongly opposes Option 1. Our opposition is rooted in the history and reality of environmental raci...