Briefly...
CITY HALL, 1685 MAIN STREET,
is open Monday through Thursday
from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and every other Friday from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m., with payment and permit services available
every Friday. “Closed Fridays” for most city offices
(reducing car trips and improving air quality) for the next
two and a half months are December 7 and 21, January 4 and
18 and February 1. All city offices will be closed on
November 22 and 23 for the Thanksgiving holiday, December 25
and January 1 for the Christmas and New Year’s
holidays, and on January 21 for the Martin Luther King, Jr.
holiday. All offices will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 12
noon on December 24 and December 31.
WISE SENIOR SERVICES,
a city grantee with offices
in the Ken Edwards Center at 1527 4th Street, has received a
grant from the S. Mark Taper Foundation to increase staffing
hours for its ombudsman service. A key component of WISE’s
assistance to local seniors, ombudsmen educate skilled
nursing and residential care facility residents and their
families about their rights, help resolve complaints and
address issues. For more information about WISE and its
ombudsman program, please call (310) 394-9871 or visit
www.wiseseniors.org.
In accordance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act, SeaScape is available in
alternate formats by calling the City Manager’s Office at
(310) 458-8301 (TDD/TTY 917-6626). |
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$100,000 GRANT AIDS PIER’S
100TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
The City of
Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Pier Restoration
Corporation (PRC) were awarded a $100,000 “Preserve America”
grant to assist funding a yearlong celebration and marketing
campaign to promote the Santa Monica Pier’s 100th
anniversary on September 9, 2009. The Preserve America grant
program, administered by the National Park Service,
 supports
preservation efforts through heritage tourism, education and
historic preservation planning in designated Preserve
America communities. The City of Santa Monica received
the designation in 2004. “This was outstanding news to
kick off planning for the 100th anniversary
celebration,” said Ben Franz-Knight, executive director of
the PRC. “This funding will go a long way in making sure
[our] program is worthy of the pier’s 100-year
history, and that it features the caliber of events that our
residents and visitors expect and deserve.” The grant,
which requires matching funds to be raised through
sponsorship, donations and other sources, will be used
to create a calendar of events and educational programs tied
to the theme, “One hundred years in the past, one hundred
years in the future.” Watch for
more information about the Pier’s 100th anniversary
celebration in future editions of SeaScape and on-line at
www.santamonicapier.org
WORKING TOGETHER TO REDUCE GANG VIOLENCE
Communities
across the nation struggle with gang violence. The majority
of gang-related incidents that have taken place in Santa
Monica in recent years are primarily attributable to gangs
with roots in West Los Angeles, Venice and Mar Vista, an
indication of larger regional issues. In 2003, City
Council placed enhanced safety and quality of life for
residents of the Pico Neighborhood at the top of its
community priorities. Since then, the city has worked with
local non- profit agencies, Santa Monica College, the
school district, the Chamber of Commerce and neighborhood
associations to find solutions to the underlying causes of
gang violence, as well as to support affected youth and
families. These efforts include:
- Engaging young people before they become involved in
gang activities through presentations by the Santa
Monica Police Department in schools and after-school
programs such as the Police Activities League.
- Supporting a $25.1 million Council-approved youth
budget for after-school and park programs, The Cove
skatepark, recreational swim and lessons at the swim
center, teen programs and employment services, among
many other enrichment activities. Funding is also
provided to nonprofit organizations offering community-
and school-based programs for youth and families.
- Offering monthly workshops at Virginia Avenue Park
on a variety of topics related to the challenges of
parenting older youth.
- Teaching key life skills to older youth seeking to
leave the gang lifestyle behind through Virginia Avenue
Park’s Night Bridges Program, funded by the US
Department of Justice.
- Participating in a Regional Gang Task Force with
other local law enforcement agencies.
- Aggressively investigating gang-related crime, such
as the string of increasingly violent incidents,
including two homicides and several shootings, that
occurred over a three-year period and ended in 2007 with
the arrest of several West L.A. gang members.
For more information, view the
biannual “Action Partners” progress updates at
www.smgov.net/residents/sgv |
