By Lookout Staff

In April, a $1-million-per-unit homeless housing project gets the go-ahead, more child sex abuse cases are filed against the City and the last four hotels sign union agreements.

Santa Monica 's history is also in the spotlight with a landmark designation and the death of a grocery store owner who gave shoppers a taste of the past.

Here are the top stories:

LA County Health officials urge residents to get the newly-released COVID booster shot despite key indicators showing the virus is rapidly waning and a major study that reveals rare, but serious, vaccine-related risks ("County Health Pushes New COVID Booster," April 4, 2024).

One year after announcing the closing of a "sad chapter in Santa Monica history," the City Council takes up sexual abuse cases filed on behalf of 38 additional plaintiffs ("Council to Take Up 38 More Child Sex Abuse Cases," April 5, 2024).

Santa Monica police investigate a spate of antisemitic graffiti as protests and hate crimes targeting Jews and Israel continue to spread across the nation ("Antisemitic Graffiti Spree in Santa Monica Part of Skyrocketing Trend," April 8, 2024).

Bob Rosenbloom, owner of one of the last independent neighborhood markets on the Westside, dies, leaving behind the legacy of a simpler time that is rapidly vanishing in Santa Monica ("Bob's Market Owner Who Kept Spirit of Neighborhood Grocery Stores Alive Dead at 92," April 9, 2024).

The Council approves a 122-unit apartment building for the homeless that will cost more than $1 million per unit, making it one of the most expensive affordable housing projects in the nation ("EXTRA -- Council Approves $1 Million Per Unit Homeless Housing Project," April 10, 2024).

A modest commercial building in the Pico neighborhood that served as a meeting hall for Santa Monica's oldest active Black women's club becomes a historic landmark ("Santa Monica's First Black Women's Clubhouse Designated a Historic Landmark," April 19, 2024).

The Council literally takes a concrete step to fight carbon emissions by requiring the use of low-carbon concrete for all new construction, swimming pools and spas ("Council Bans Use of Traditional Concrete in New Construction," April 25, 2024).

The last four Santa Monica hotels engaged in bitter contract negotiations with the hotel workers union sign agreements ("EXTRA -- Final 4 Santa Monica Hotels Sign Union Contracts, Protests End,"
April 26, 2024).

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In May, the City sues the owners of a troublesome motel and adds four officers to the Police Department budget. It also keeps the doors to its emergency shelter open at all hours and withholds funding from non-profits that distribute needles outdoors.

The actions come the same month that separate reports find fewer visitors are coming to Santa Monica and the City is failing to meet its affordable housing requirement.

Here are the top stories:

A report shows Santa Monica's tourism industry hit a bump in the road to recovery in 2023, seeing both the number of visitors and the spending they generated dipping for the first time since the coronavirus shutdown four years earlier ("Tourism Industry's Recovery Loses Some Ground," May 6, 2024).

Despite a surge in multi-family development over the past four fiscal years, Santa Monica met its affordable housing requirement only once, according to a report to the Council ("City Struggles to Meet Affordable Housing Targets," May 8, 2024).

"SAMOSHEL -- Santa Monica's homeless shelter on Olympic Boulevard next to the freeway -- begins taking in clients around the clock ("SAMOSHEL Taking Clients 24/7," May 13, 2024).

In a surprising 6 to 1 vote, the Council bars two non-profits from using City funds to distribute needles around parks and public spaces ("Council Bars Use of City Funds for Needle Distribution," May 17, 2024).

The City Attorney's Office files a lawsuit against the owners of a Sunset Park motel claiming it has been a "dangerous narcotics-related public nuisance" for decades ("Santa Monica Motel 'Hotbed for Drug Activity,' City Lawsuit Claims," May 20, 2024).

After nearly two hours of discussing options and budget trade-offs, the City Council early Wednesday morning voted to add four police officers to the proposed $763.5 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year ("Council Adds 4 Officers to Proposed Budget," May 31, 2024).

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Homelessness and crime make more headlines in June as a homeless registered sex offender attacks three women on the beach and a pub manager is killed by a patron.

The homeless census shows a decrease, exposing flaws in the count, while data show that 53 homeless individuals died in Santa Monica in 2023.

Here are the top stories:

The death toll among the homeless in Santa Monica spikes over the past year, with an average of one homeless individual per week dying in the city ("SPECIAL REPORT -- Homeless Deaths Spiked in Santa Monica Last Year," June 10, 2024).

A deeply divided Council votes to create clearly defined policy and procedures for leaked closed session items, but stops short of launching an investigation ("Council Nixes Investigation into Leaks Before Setting Procedures," June 11, 2024).

The manager of a pub on Main Street is killed during a fight that breaks out after he asks several patrons to leave ("Patron Kills Main Street Pub Manager," June 13, 2024).

The recent purchase of eight parcels on the Third Street Promenade, major investments in hotel projects and a wave of new business openings are signs that the Downtown is headed in the right direction, Downtown officials say ("Investment Downtown Signals Revitalization Underway, Officials Say," June 21, 2024).

Santa Monica police arrest a homeless registered sex offender -- who was released from jail last month -- for attacking three women during a "reign of terror" on the beach ("Homeless Sex Offender Goes on Violent Rampage on Santa Monica Beach," June 25, 2024).

Santa Monica's political establishment fields a united slate in the November race for four City Council seats after the local Democratic Club endorses the same slate as SMRR ("Major Political Establishment Groups to Field United Council Slate," June 27, 2024).

A total of 774 homeless individuals are counted in Santa Monica in 2024 census, a decrease of 52 people that is likely an undercount hampered by a precipitous drop in volunteers and technical glitches after the County takes over the census ("Homeless Population Drops in First County-Run Count," June 28, 2024).