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Lana Negrete Newsletter — July 26, 2026
🌟 Santa Monica Weekly with Councilmember Lana Negrete
📅 July 27, 2026
Dear neighbors,
Tomorrow night, your City Council takes up the biggest change to how Santa Monica addresses homelessness in more than three decades. It comes with a bureaucratic name, the Housing Focused System of Care, and a very simple question underneath it: with the county system around us being defunded and reorganized, do we wait and hope, or do we take control of our own outcomes? I want you to understand exactly what is on the table before the vote, not after, so I have laid it out in plain English below.
This week's letter also carries hard news. We had two homicides in our community, and I will not gloss over that. But there is light in here too: new businesses opened their doors, six artists were just selected for residencies at Bergamot Station, and yesterday my family marked my dad's birthday in the park where he taught me what community really means. I am saving that story for the end. Let's walk through the week together.
🚔 Public Safety
🔹 Two homicide investigations, two suspects in custody, and a community in mourning. Early on Monday, July 20, a man was fatally shot in Parking Lot 1 North near the Pier following an altercation between two groups. By Tuesday evening, SMPD detectives had identified a 16-year-old from Las Vegas as the suspect, and he surrendered to detectives and was taken into custody. Then on Saturday, July 25, officers responded to an apartment on the 1900 block of Pico Boulevard, where a woman was found gravely injured and pronounced deceased at the scene. Within about three hours, a suspect was in custody, and no additional suspects are being sought.
→ 🎯 My take: Before anything else, my heart is with two families whose lives changed forever this week. Violence has no place in this city, full stop. What I want you to take from these cases is the follow-through: in both investigations, our detectives moved from crime to custody in a matter of hours or days. That speed is not luck. It is the direct result of the staffing, training, and technology we have invested in, and it is why I will keep backing our department without apology. Both investigations remain active, and anyone with information can reach SMPD at 310-458-8491.
👉 Read the SMPD update on the Pier investigation
👉 Read the SMPD update on the Pico investigation
🔹 The week in numbers, July 12 through 18. SMPD handled 2,306 calls for service and made 108 arrests this week, while homeless-related calls continue to trend down, now 5 percent lower year over year.
Metric | This Week | Prior Week | YTD 2026 | YTD 2025 | YoY Change |
Calls for service | 2,306 | 2,438 | 71,338 | 65,902 | +8.2% |
Resident-initiated calls | 1,362 (59%) | 1,327 (54%) | 37,279 | 39,190 | -4.9% |
Officer-initiated activity | 944 (41%) | 1,111 (46%) | 34,059 | 26,712 | +27.5% |
Homeless-related dispositions | 482 (21%) | 587 (24%) | 16,297 | 17,156 | -5.0% |
Total arrests | 108 | 112 | 2,877 | 1,697 | +69.5% |
Behind those numbers, our outreach teams kept at it: street-level engagement, mental health response, and Project Homecoming reunifications that reconnect people with family who can support them.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: One week is a snapshot. The trend is the story, and the trend says proactive policing and persistent outreach are both doing their jobs. We should measure compassion by outcomes, and fewer crisis calls means fewer people in crisis.
🔹 SMFD prevention activity, July 12 through 18. Our Fire Department's prevention team stayed busy behind the scenes keeping buildings, events, and construction sites safe.
Prevention Activity | Completed |
Annual fire inspections | 143 |
Alarm / sprinkler plan checks and inspections | 20 |
New construction plan reviews and meetings | 21 |
Special event plan reviews and meetings | 12 |
👉 See my full weekly update (Instagram)
🏛️ At City Hall: Tuesday's Vote Deserves Your Full Attention
🔹 The Housing Focused System of Care, explained without the jargon. On Tuesday, July 28, the Council will consider a plan to wind down SaMoShel, the 60-bed congregate shelter that has been our city's only dedicated shelter for over 30 years, and replace it with a network of non-congregate housing that Santa Monica itself controls, from intake all the way to permanent placement. The first step preserves the Palm Motel as stabilization housing under city control, with placements reserved for people with verified, long-standing ties to Santa Monica. The second funds shelter beds at the Salvation Army's Bell Shelter as a referral option for everyone else. The third opens a competitive search for motels, hotels, and other local sites to replace SaMoShel's capacity, sequenced so no shelter beds are lost during the transition. The combined price tag across the three agreements is roughly $9.5 million over multiple years.
→ 💡 What this means: This is a closure and a rebuild, not a relocation. The context matters: over the past year and a half, the county has restructured its homelessness agencies and cut nearly $200 million from services, and federal funding to the regional system was suspended in June. Staff's argument is blunt: if we keep leaning on a system that is being taken apart, our outcomes will suffer. This plan puts the decisions, the standards, and the accountability in Santa Monica's hands.
→ 🎯 My take: Decisions this big should be made with residents in the room, not discovered by residents after the fact. That is what transparency means to me, and it is why I am giving you the reading material today instead of a summary next week. Read the coverage, read the staff report, and come tell us what you think on Tuesday, whether you support it, oppose it, or just have questions. I will also post a video after the meeting breaking down what happened and what it means, because you deserve the follow-through, not just the preview. And whichever side you land on, bring your best arguments and your best manners. Civility is not weakness. It is how neighbors solve hard problems.
👉 Read SMDP's breakdown of the plan
🔹 Two meetings, one agenda page. The Council also meets tonight, Monday, July 27, in open session with the Rent Control Boars to address the previously voted on ballot measures and in closed session to interview City Clerk candidates. Agendas and staff reports for both meetings are posted on the City's meetings page.
👉 Find the agendas and staff reports
💼 Economic Development
🔹 Welcome to the neighborhood, Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen and Puppy Sphere. Two new businesses opened their doors in Santa Monica this week: one serving craft Indian cuisine, the other pairing wellness sessions with actual puppies. One feeds your soul through the kitchen, the other through a wagging tail, and I call that a balanced local economy.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: Every new lease signed here is a bet on Santa Monica's future, placed by people risking their own savings. The best way to say thank you is with your feet and your wallet. Go say hello.
🔹 COAST closed out six weeks of World Cup programming, and the numbers tell the story. Thousands of people filled Downtown to support our local businesses across the tournament's run, capping a summer that put Santa Monica on the regional map as the place to celebrate. We just proved to ourselves that this city can host the world with style. Good thing, because the 2028 Games will be here faster than we think, and now we have the playbook.
🔹 Ocean Way Festival tickets are officially ready to purchase. Resident early access went live Wednesday, and yes, I grabbed mine the moment it opened. I love this lineup top to bottom, and the idea of The Killers, Olivia Dean, and Sublime playing on our own sand on September 26 and 27 still makes me happy. Between now and then, the producers are bringing free concerts, beach cleanups, and youth surf and water safety programs to town, exactly the kind of community investment I pushed for. If you hit a snag buying tickets, comment on my post and I will do my best to help.
👉 Get Ocean Way Festival tickets
🔹 The Pier is open, even while the bridge gets its makeover. Appian Way is temporarily closed during Pier Bridge construction, but let me say the important part loudly: the Pier and every business on it are open. A little construction dust today is the price of a bridge built for the next century of visitors.
→ 💡 What this means: Plan a few extra minutes to get there, use the pedestrian access, and keep showing up for the shops and restaurants riding out the construction season.
👉 Follow the Pier Bridge project
🎓 Education, Arts & Our Youth
🔹 Six artists just won a year that could change their careers. The City selected Sasha Mazhara, Chinaedu Nwadibia, Bella Ortiz, Seda Saar, Avila Santo, and Nicolette Spear for the 2026-2027 Santa Monica Artist Residency Program, which officially moves to a studio at the City Gallery in Bergamot Station this cycle. Each artist gets a 14-week residency and will lead free public workshops for the community. And if you want art right now, the "Water is a Currency" exhibition is on view at the Annenberg Community Beach House gallery through September 27.
→ 🎯 My take: Free workshops, open to everyone, taught by working artists. That is arts access, and expanding it for our kids is the reason I got into community work in the first place. Congratulations to all six artists. We are lucky to have you.
👉 Meet the new resident artists
🔹 Summer Reading enters the home stretch. The Library's Summer Reading program runs through August 15, and there is still time to log hours, win prizes like a Nintendo Switch 2 for readers ages 4 to 18 or a Kobo eReader for adults, and remind your kids that the library is the best free entertainment in town.
🔹 Friday Night Lights keeps rolling all summer. Free drop-in coed flag football continues every Friday at John Adams Middle School, 6:30 to 8 p.m., for ages 6 to 18. No fees, no tryouts, no registration, and teams get reshuffled weekly so every kid plays. If your child has been glued to a screen since school let out, this is your exit ramp.
🏠 Housing
🔹 Renter Aid applications close August 20, and I do not want a single eligible household to miss it. Santa Monica's new homelessness prevention program offers one-time or short-term financial help to renters facing a temporary crisis. If last week got away from you, this is your nudge: apply online, or get in-person help at the weekly assistance hours at Virginia Avenue Park and the Main Library, with Spanish-language support available.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: As a renter myself, I know how fast one bad month can snowball. Keeping a family housed costs a fraction of what it takes to help them after they lose their home.
👉 Apply for Santa Monica Renter Aid
🎉 Around Town & Community
🔹 Thank you, Main Street. Thursday's State of the City turned Main Street into a block party, with community booths, live music from the Samohi Orchestra Ensemble, and the Mayor's annual address. Thank you to everyone who came out, and to the staff and volunteers who made a civic event feel like a celebration. That is exactly how government should meet its residents: outside, face to face.
🔹 Paint with an ocean view at Art on Ocean, Saturday, August 8. The Palisades Park Arts Festival runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Paint Party Professionals will host guided paint sessions in the wine and beer garden with time slots at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Grab a brush, grab a friend, and make something worth hanging.
👉 See Art on Ocean details and tickets
📅 Dates to Know
🔹 Tonight, Monday, July 27: City Council closed session. Details on the City's meetings page.
🔹 Tuesday, July 28, 5:30 p.m.: City Council meeting, including the Housing Focused System of Care vote.
👉 Find the agendas and staff reports
🔹 Tuesday, August 4, 5 to 8 p.m.: National Night Out on the City Hall lawn with SMPD.
👉 See the National Night Out details
🔹 Thursday, August 6: Public Works discusses the San Vicente coral trees at the NOMA meeting.
🔹 Saturday, August 8, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Art on Ocean at Palisades Park.
🔹 Through Saturday, August 15: Summer Reading at the Library.
🔹 Through Thursday, August 20: Santa Monica Renter Aid application window.
🔹 Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27: Ocean Way Festival on Santa Monica Beach.
🔹 Every Wednesday and every weekend: the farmers markets are open, and weekends are when you can catch me there. Bring your questions, bring your opinions, and I will bring my honest answers.
💙 All In Through November
This week I am honored to share the endorsement of Ray Jackson: Independent Cities Association President, California Coastal Commissioner, and Hermosa Beach City Councilmember. Over the past year, Ray and I have worked side by side on regional coastal issues through the ICA, and he has become a genuine mentor and friend. He understands something I say all the time: the biggest challenges our cities face, from coastal protection to housing to public safety, do not stop at city boundaries, and neither should our solutions. Thank you, Ray, for your trust and your partnership.
👉 Read Ray Jackson's endorsement (Instagram)
📱 Stay Connected
Got an issue to report? Want to make sure the city hears you?
If you haven't already, be sure to follow me on Instagram too for behind-the-scenes updates, event highlights, and my thoughts along the way as I continue to go on this journey with you.
🔹 Book time with me. Virtual, in-person at City Hall, or catch me at the farmers market on weekends.
👉 Book Office Hours with Councilmember Lana Negrete
🌟 Closing Thought: Sinatra Under Our Tree
Yesterday, July 26, was my dad's birthday. After an afternoon at Cloverfield Park with Friends of Sunset Park, I took his ashes to Douglas Park on Wilshire, his favorite place in the world. During the pandemic, that park became his Sunday ritual, and then it became everyone's: the longtime regulars from Casa Escobar, the friends of decades, the music birthday celebrations and potluck holidays. The very tree where I had my elementary school birthday parties became the spot where my dad celebrated life with his people, week after week, with him right at the center of it.
So yesterday, my dog Lucy and I spread a blanket under that same tree, put on Frank Sinatra, and celebrated a life very well lived by the legend himself, Chico Fernandez.
Here is what I keep coming back to. My dad did not build community with policies or programs. He built it with folding chairs, a park, and the stubborn habit of showing up every single Sunday. Everything I fight for at City Hall, safe parks, thriving local businesses, streets where neighbors actually know each other, is really just an attempt to protect what he showed me under that tree.
So this week, do one thing in his honor. Take someone you love to a park. Check on a neighbor. Come speak your mind at Tuesday's meeting. Community is not something a city gives you. It is something we build for each other, one day at a time.
Lana Negrete
Councilmember, City of Santa Monica