Local Briefs

Petition Drive to Recall Mike Bonin

Disgusted with a proposal to house the homeless at Will Rogers State Beach, two Venice residents have launched a petition drive to recall Mike Bonin from the Los Angeles City Council.

A recall petition on change.org has over 10,000 signatures.

“Councilman Mike Bonin has proven to be completely ineffective at his elected post,” says the petition. “The streets of west Los Angeles are increasingly more populated with homeless - some of which have dangerous drug and mental health issues. He is sitting by blaming the police for things he should be solving.”

Bonin received 17,990 votes in the 2018 election, re-electing him to another 4 year term. He represents the Westside, and self identifies as a progressive.

The year of the pandemic has also been one of political recalls. LA County DA George Gascon and Mayor Gavin Newsome are already subject to recalls, and recall drives have been announced for LA Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Roku Moves to SM

Roku, Inc. signed a new, 10-year lease agreement for 72,000 square feet in BXP’s 1.2 million square foot Colorado Center office campus in Santa Monica.

Located at 2400 Colorado Ave., Colorado Center boasts a privately owned public park, and tenants such as Hulu and HBO.

Boston Properties says that it is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of Class A office properties in the United States. It purchased Colorado Center for $511 million in 2016.

Broken Gas Main

The Santa Monica Fire Dept. assisted with a broken gas main at the intersection of Stanford Street and Lipton Avenue. The leak occurred on Wednesday, April 28th just before 4 PM.

According to the fire department, a 16-inch underground gas main was ruptured during excavation causing a natural gas leak.

Street closures were in place on Lipton Avenue from Centinela Avenue to Stanford Avenue and the intersection of Franklin Street and Wilshire Boulevard.

People were told to avoid the area and use alternate routes. Firefighters and the SMFD hazmat team were monitoring the area.

SoCalGas said the damage was caused by a third-party contractor working in the area. They repaired the damage within 24 hours.

No injuries were reported and there was no damage to any structures.