In April, Santa Monica was named the winner of the 2012 Siemens Sustainable
Community Award in the midsize community category (population 50,000
- 150,000). Santa Monica and fellow 2012 Sustainable Communities Chicago,
IL (large community category) and Purcellville, VA (small community category) were chosen from among 132 communities across 40 states to become this year’s winners.

Santa Monica’s award application focused on integrating goals and principles of its Sustainable City Plan into a wide range of city operations, services and strategic planning initiatives, including the recently adopted Land Use and Circulation Element
(LUCE). Judges noted Santa Monica’s excellence in setting strategic citywide goals that are reinforced across multiple planning areas, such as resource conservation, economic growth, open space and land use, housing, transportation, civic participation, and human services. As part of the award, Santa Monica will receive $20,000 worth of trees from the Alliance for Community Trees.

The awards program is a partnership between the Siemens Corporation and the US Chamber Business Civic Leadership Center. For information, visit http://bclc.uschamber.com/sustainablecommunityawards.

All seven of Santa Monica’s testing sites came back with an A or A+ for testing during dry weather, but four fared worse during rainfall.

The scores are based on daily and weekly samples of water from various test spots. Heal the Bay employees analyze those samples for certain kinds of bacteria that are present when fecal waste is in the water.

2) Do you know why some Airport tenants pay $2.36 per sq ft and other pay 2 cents?

3) Do you know what City Council Resolution 6296 says?

4) Do you know how much the City spends each year on subsidizing Santa Monica Airport?

5) Do you know the difference between the three parcels of land at the airport?

6) Do you know how the Second Circuit Court ruling in National Helicopter Corporation of America v. City of New York applies to Santa Monica Airport?

7) Do you know why jets at Santa Monica Airport are allowed to idle and accelerate less than 300 feet from homes, but jets are not allowed within 300 feet of instrument landing system equipment or antennas “since prolonged exposure to jet fumes is dangerous to the health of personnel working on the systems?”