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NOMA Meetings
Monthly Meeting:
NOMA meets the first Thursday of each month Next Meeting: February 3, 2022 Topic: NOMA Board Elections 7:00 p.m. via Zoom Click HERE to join the Meeting |
City of Santa Monica Meetings
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Registration for SMMUSD Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten is OpenEnrollment for the 2022-23 school year is now open and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District welcomes resident parents to learn more about preschool, Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and Kindergarten programs.
READ MORE > Place your order for free at-home Covid-19 testsResidential households in the U.S. can order one set of 4 free at-home tests from USPS.com. Here’s what you need to know about your order:
NOMA Board Elections Will Be Held February 3rdNOMA will vote at its February 3rd Zoom meeting for our 2022 Board Members. Board members serve for 2 years.
JOIN THE ZOOM MEETING: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81526517066 Meeting ID: 815 2651 7066 The NOMA Nominations Committee has put forth five candidates, including four who are incumbents. They will join the nine members elected in 2021. The candidates are (* indicates incumbent): Danilo Bach* I've been a resident of the city for 44 years, the first ten as a renter and homeowner in Ocean Park, where I was involved with preservation and local zoning issues and with my wife and friends helped save and rehab the Irving Gill-designed Horatio West Court apartments, the first Santa Monica landmark to be listed on the National Register. I've since been a resident of north of Montana for over 30 years, made my living as a screenwriter, have a wife who, if anything, is more passionate about the singularity of our city than I, and two sons who are products of Santa Monica's extraordinary public school system. Jeff Brecht* My wife and I have lived on 4th and San Vicente in Santa Monica for the last five years. I've made my career as a Financial Consultant focused on promoting financial health and literacy. I first became involved with the community as an active member of the Historic San Vicente Coalition. In the coalition, I worked side by side with numerous NOMA members and countless North of Montana residents in creating the largest historic district in Santa Monica. As a member of the NOMA board, I hope to promote the welfare of our neighborhood and its citizens through furthering the democratic process. Nancy Coleman* I returned to Santa Monica after a 40 year period in Washington, DC in mid-2011 and joined NOMA shortly thereafter. I graduated from Roosevelt, Lincoln, and Santa Monica High School and continued to visit the area during the intervening years. Most recently I have served as Chair of NOMA, a member of the Santa Monica Social Services Commission and served two terms on the Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury. My NOMA work has concerned the maintenance of R 1 neighborhoods, the incursion of residential neighborhoods of commercial entities, the lack of parks in the north of Montana area, and state legislation that impacts our residential neighborhoods. I have spent my professional life looking at better ways for citizens to influence public policy whether at the national or local levels. I hope to be able to use my skills to help NOMA influence the Santa Monica City Council and other Commission's such as the Planning Commission. Jeff Gordon* I have lived in Santa Monica since 1988. I am a retired attorney (inactive status.) Over the years, as part of my litigation practice, I have worked on protecting women’s and first amendment rights and to help ensure gender equality for girls in LA park's programs and numerous other pro bono projects. I have received recognition from the State Bar and the ACLU's Pro Bono Advocacy Award for my work. I am concerned about traffic gridlock in our city caused by overdevelopment and preserving the character of our wonderful NOMA neighborhood and city as a whole. I am a member of our Home Owners Association Board and have been involved with neighborhood issues as part of this responsibility. Bruce Leddy My family and I have lived in the North of Montana neighborhood for the past 21 years, having moved here from New York City to pursue my work as a writer/director. I feel lucky to live in Santa Monica, and in particular NOMA, and am eager to apply more time and energy to helping preserve and improve the neighborhood we are so fortunate to live in. Issues of particular interest to me are: over-development, which threatens to irrevocably alter our city and quality of life; the preservation of historic homes; and finding compassionate solutions to the chronic and complex homelessness crisis which affects us all. My volunteer experience has primarily been at a national/political level and I welcome the opportunity to address issues here at home, following the maxim "All politics is local." NOMA’s commitment to providing information to residents about important matters that affect us directly, as well as its monthly forum for healthy discussion and interaction with community leaders, are invaluable to creating a better community. I look forward to supporting that mission. Board Members elected in 2021 who will remain on the Board are: Phillis Dudick Victor Fresco Ann Greenspun Todd James Evelyn Lauchenauer Elizabeth Lerer Steven Lissik Robert Posek Sonya Fox Sultan Jim Williams will be leaving the NOMA Board after serving for more than 4 years. City's Cultural Affairs Department to Engage the Community in Discussions About City Halls MuralsIn recent years, communities across the country have initiated dialogues to respond to public art that no longer reflects a contemporary understanding of its history and peoples. The Works Progress Administration-era murals in the lobby of Santa Monica’s Historic City Hall have prompted the need to engage in a discussion about how our histories and communities are represented in our civic spaces, with the goal of ensuring that all in our community feel seen and welcomed in the seat of government.
Santa Monica Cultural Affairs is embarking upon a project to engage the community around these murals to explore how they might be re-contextualized in such a way that does not erase the stains of the past, but acknowledges historic inequities and makes a commitment to a more just future. In the coming year, they will engage a diverse array of voices and perspectives through a series of community conversations, art installations, and other engagement measures that will:
Mark Your Calendar for Spring Recreation RegistrationPriority online registration for spring recreation programs will open to Santa Monica residents on Wednesday, January 26 at 6:00 a.m. Non-resident registration will open Wednesday, February 2 at 6:00 a.m. Online registration is required; walk-up registration is not available.
Santa Monica Holiday Tree Collection 2022
Place your tree curbside or in the alley for collection through January 26, 2022. Remember to remove all decorations, tinsel, and stands so trees can be composted.
Please do not drop trees off at our parks. https://www.smgov.net/departments/publicworks/recycling.aspx NEW Statewide Organics Recycling Law Now in EffectA new statewide organics recycling law began January 1, 2022. All single and multi-families households and businesses are now required to recycle all food scraps in addition to green waste.
The December edition of Seascape includes the latest information about city programs, resources, and services including items on NOMA and other neighborhood organizations, housing, homelessness, economic recovery, public safety, library services, community gardens, and so much more!
Changes to Some Big Blue Bus SchedulesBeginning Sunday, December 5, The Big Blue Bus is making schedule changes on ten (10) routes. Further, Route 44 service will resume on Monday, February 14.Preview changes & print new schedules at: bigbluebus.com/servicechange.
Follow-up to the discussion about the City Hall murals at NOMA's August meetingThe Santa Monica Conservancy informs us that on September 28, the City Council assigned the Landmarks Commission the responsibility of interpreting and contextualizing the City Hall murals. An ad hoc Council committee consisting of Oscar De La Torre and Christine Parra will advise the Commission and make recommendations as part of the Commission discussions. The Arts Commission will also be involved.
Both the History mural panel in City Hall and the companion mural depicting recreation in Santa Monica have been criticized. The images in the Recreation mural feature what appear to be elitist, upper class white people engaged in tennis, polo, aviation, auto races and sailing. (See a 360-degree view of the murals.) There is a transcribed oral interview with artist Stanton MacDonald-Wright at the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian. In the excerpt below, MacDonald-Wright talks about the Recreation mural and gives us insight into why he chose to depict these particular images. (Unfortunately, the History mural is not discussed in the interview.) Betty Hoag: There are some details about the Santa Monica City Hall mural I want to ask you about . . . particularly the one where the polo-players are. Do you remember the man in polo jodhpurs standing in front, and then a man on a horse behind him with a mallet? Stanton MacDonald-Wright: Yes, I remember. BH: Did those have anything to do with Will Rogers and his polo field? SM: Yes. And that airplane and the automobile are very distinctly related to Santa Monica. The biggest automobile road-races that they had in California at that time were held in Santa Monica . . . . BH: On San Vicente Boulevard? SM: I don't remember whether they were there or whether they were on Wilshire Boulevard, I forget. Also the first airplane field, Rogers Field, was built and given to Santa Monica by the son-in-law of this fellow about whom I told you, Gorham; he is depicted there. Now the plane business was important then. The Douglas building is shown in the mural. Douglas was the first great airplane-builder in the United States. And the tennis players! Remember, the best tennis players, the world champions, were all developed in Santa Monica: May Sutton and the Ryan girls and May Sutton's daughter and Tom Bundy (who was later her husband) played in the doubles, and so on. All the greatest tennis players. So all those were put in the mural for good reasons. From this interview, we learn that the artist selected recreational and spectator sports that were huge visitor attractions and which drew people to Santa Monica. The images were chosen in the spirit of boosterism, and pride in recreational activities that made the City famous. MacDonald-Wright was a Santa Monica resident who was quite knowledgeable about the City's history and attractions. Santa Monica Housing Element UpdateState law requires the City of Santa Monica to update its Housing Element every eight years. With the previous eight year cycle Housing Element (2013 - 2021) coming to an end, the City must now plan for the next eight year cycle. Santa Monica’s 6th Cycle Housing Element must be adopted and certified by October 2021. Without certification, the City could be penalized and lose important State funding.
For more information on the Housing Element, please check out the Housing Element Update website or email HousingUpdate@smgov.net if you have any questions on the Housing Element update. Crime MappingClick here for a map of local police activity in Santa Monica. Use the Santa Monica Police Department's crime mapping system to obtain crime information and register for crime alerts.
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