Hey there, Santa Monica! Let's get started with what's happening in and around town. Read on and stay in the loop. ☀️
In today's newsletter:
Also on today's calendar: Second Saturday Divorce Workshop and 9 more events.
Today's riddle: Why did the cookie go to the hospital? 🤔 (Answer below!)
1. SMC Foundation Raises $166,500 for STEM Students (smdp.com) — Santa Monica College just raised $166,500 toward a $175,000 goal to support local STEM students, showcasing its new Math + Science Building and observatory to community donors. The campaign will fund hands-on research, industry-standard labs, and scholarships for many first-generation students. With only $8,500 left, residents can still contribute to expand these opportunities.
2. Iconic LA restaurant to face wrecking ball, new shock planning docs reveal (nypost.com) — Santa Monica's Mel's Drive-In on Lincoln Boulevard could be demolished and replaced by an eight-story mixed-use building with 138 apartments, including 14 affordable units and ground-floor retail. Preservationists with the Santa Monica Conservancy are pushing for historic landmark status for the Googie-style former Penguin Coffee Shop ahead of a key Landmarks Commission hearing on December 14.
3. Volunteers work to remove invasive plants in the Pacific Palisades before El Niño-driven rains (laist.com) — Volunteers are racing to pull invasive plants from the Santa Monica Mountains above Pacific Palisades before expected El Niño rains help them spread and worsen wildfire risk for nearby neighborhoods, including Santa Monica-area communities. Led by local nonprofit Resilient Palisades, the group meets multiple days a week in Temescal Canyon Gateway Park and recently received a UCLA grant to expand the work. Residents can sign up online to help restore native habitat and improve fire resilience.
4. Michael Kearns, actor who made history with HIV reveal, dies at 76 (thestate.com) — A longtime figure at Santa Monica's Celebration Theatre, actor and director Michael Kearns has died at 76 after decades of groundbreaking work in LGBTQ+ theater and HIV visibility. Kearns once served as the theater's artistic director and was scheduled to appear at an Oct. 11 event there. His career included notable TV roles and the influential play "Jerker," which challenged censorship and homophobia.
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Ok Santa Monica! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!
-- The Patch AM Team
P.S. The answer to today's riddle: "Why did the cookie go to the hospital?" — Because he felt crummy. (Thank you Sanda J. for sending it in!)
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