Richard Bloom

Drug Overdoses Take More Lives Than Car Accidents; California Bill Hopes To Change That

You know you have an overdose problem when more of us in California die from drugs than car accidents. Nationwide a majority of those deaths involved prescription drugs. Marijuana looks downright beneficial in comparison. State Assemblyman Richard Bloom of Santa Monica announced today that he has ... More >>

Beverly Hills Courthouse Closure Decried By Business; It's A Westside Legal Hub

The famous Beverly Hills courthouse, home to many an appearance by Lindsay Lohan and other celebrities, is slated to close alongside 9 other regional courthouses as a result of budget cuts. The powers that be in the gilded city aren't too happy about that. The Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce thi ... More >>

Assembly District 50 Election Results: Richard Bloom Declares Victory Over Betsy Butler

The vote count has been taking forever in the closely contested Assembly District 50 race, but on Wednesday night Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom declared victory over Assemblywoman Betsy Butler. After the latest count by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, Bloom leads by 1,246 votes. "Our ... More >>

Assembly District 50 Election Results: Richard Bloom's Lead Slightly Widens Over Betsy Butler

In the too-close-to-call Assembly District 50 contest, Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom has reversed a shrinking lead and now has 218 more votes than Assemblywoman Betsy Butler. Last Friday's count put Bloom up by only 103 votes. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder won't certify a winner in t ... More >>

Assembly District 50 Election Results: Richard Bloom's Lead Over Betsy Butler Shrinks In Latest Vote Count

In the hotly contested California Assembly District 50 race, which still yet to be called, Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom's lead over Assemblywoman Betsy Butler has shrunk from a little over 200 votes to 103. Every few days, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder updates the AD 50 vote count o ... More >>

Assembly District 50 Election Results: Who Voted For Betsy Butler and Richard Bloom?

Take the L.A. Weekly exit poll after the jump. We want to know why you voted for Betsy Butler or Richard Bloom. While Assemblywoman Betsy Butler and Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom wait for election results to be confirmed in the too-close-to-call Assembly District 50 race, the Los Angeles County ... More >>

Kate Anderson vs. Steve Zimmer LAUSD Board Race: Mother of Twins, Lawyer and Activist Goes After Anti-Charter Zimmer

The heat is on. Kate Anderson, an activist mom and successful attorney with political chops -- she worked for Congress members Henry Waxman and Jane Harman -- will try to oust Steve Zimmer, the Westside's man on Los Angeles Unified School Board, in March 2013. Zimmer has emerged as a fierce oppone ... More >>

Assembly District 50 Betsy Butler and Richard Bloom: Absentee Ballots and Early Returns Show Underdog Bloom Leading Butler By Nearly 4 Percent

Update: At 12:42 a.m., with 12 percent of precincts reporting, Bloom leads Butler by 3 percentage points with 51 percent of the vote. In the hotly contested California Assembly District 50 race, Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom is leading Assemblywoman Betsy Butler by nearly 4 percentage points: Bl ... More >>

Assembly District 50 Election Results: Underdog Richard Bloom Holds on to Slim Lead Over Assemblywoman Betsy Butler

Update, 1:05 p.m.: Bloom campaign releases cautious statement about possibly victory, after the jump. Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom holds on to an extremely slim lead over Assemblywoman Betsy Butler. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Bloom captured 69,280 votes, or 50.08 percent, to Butle ... More >>

California Voter Guide for Nov. 6, 2012, Los Angeles Weekly

Confused about the measures and races on Tuesday's ballot? This California Voter Guide for November 6, 2012 contains a summary of all state measures and several key races. It does not take a position but does touch on controversies, polls and analysis. Proposition 30: Jerry Brown's Tax Hike Governo ... More >>

Assembly District 50: Facing Tough Political Battle, Betsy Butler and Friends Point Fingers and Slam L.A. Weekly

We always know we're sounding the right notes on a story when a politician and her "friends" start crying foul in such an over-the-top way that it makes us laugh out loud. Such is the case with California Asseblywoman Betsy Butler, who's running for Assembly District 50 in a tight race against Santa ... More >>

Will Betsy Butler's Sex Pervert Vote Kill Her Political Career?

In Assembly District 50, underdog Richard Bloom sees daylight

California Assembly District 50 Campaign: Will Gay Voters Choose Betsy Butler or Richard Bloom?

For the L.A. Weekly story "Will Betsy Butler's Sex Pervert Vote Kill Her Political Career?" we talked with longtime political analyst Jamie Regalado, who thought state Assemblywoman Betsy Butler had another major problem on her hands: The gay vote may go to rival Richard Bloom in the contentious Ass ... More >>

California Assembly District 50: Campaign Mailers Slam and Tout Richard Bloom and Betsy Butler

In the final days of the hotly contested California Assembly District 50 race, a bevy of campaign mailers sent to voters are slamming and touting rival candidates Richard Bloom and Betsy Butler. They make for hilarious, if not worrisome, reading. Themes range from Butler's "courage and integrity" t ... More >>

CNN's Anderson Cooper Slams Betsy Butler's Abstention on Sex-Pervert Bill (VIDEO)

CNN video after the jump... Will California State Assemblywoman Betsy Butler's refusal to vote on a sex-pervert bill cause her political downfall? Someone sure hopes so. Butler's in a tight race against fellow Democrat and Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom in the swanky California Assembly District ... More >>

California Assembly District 50 Race: Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City Disses Local Son Richard Bloom

California State Assemblywoman Betsy Butler and Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom are battling it out in the competitive Assembly District 50 race, and with such a close election expected, anything can help -- or hurt. Butler and Bloom would have probably liked the endorsements of their like-minded ... More >>

AIDS Walk Makes Big Deal of Big Blue Bus Ad Ban, Wrongly Cries 'Discrimination'

Organizers of AIDS Walk Los Angeles took aim today at the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus system, saying the organization is banning its ads as part of a "discriminatory policy." Craig Miller, founder of AIDS Walk and a Santa Monica resident, said in a statement: All these years later, to be dealing wit ... More >>

Assembly District 50: Gay Republican Brad Torgan Says He Won't Endorse Betsy Butler or Richard Bloom

In an email to the press titled "Brad Torgan Announces Endorsement Decision," gay Republican and one-time California Assembly District 50 candidate Brad Torgan alerts political journalists that he is, in fact, endorsing no one. So much for that. Torgan placed a somewhat surprising third in the extr ... More >>

Assembly District 50: Club Endorsements Up in the Air for Richard Bloom and Betsy Butler

In the always interesting California Assembly District 50 race, new developments are once again unfolding that make us wonder what's happening behind the scenes among local Democratic leaders. Last week, as WeHo News reported, both Democratic candidates Richard Bloom and Betsy Butler, who are battl ... More >>

Marijuana Users' Rights Prompt Santa Monica to Reverse Smoking Ban

The Santa Monica City Council earlier this month voted to approve a jaw-dropping ban of smoking in your own apartment. But on "second reading," when a final vote was required, the council backed down. Why? Members forgot to take into consideration the smoking rights of medical marijuana patients. ... More >>

Village Trailer Park Closure Decision Postponed

See also: A Santa Monica Trailer Park -- and Its Senior Residents -- Face Off With Fancy New Development. After hearing from an estimated 70 members of the public during a grueling six hour meeting, the Santa Monica City Council adjourned Tuesday night without any kind of resolution on the contenti ... More >>

Why California Democrats Protect Sex Abuser Teachers

How Betsy Butler and Mike Eng torpedoed Alex Padilla's sex-pervert bill, SB 1530

Political Shake Up in Santa Monica, Richard Bloom Focusing on Assembly District 50 Race

Big developments are unfolding in the always interesting Santa Monica political scene. Longtime City Councilman Richard Bloom announced he won't run for re-election while his colleague Bobby Shriver is hinting at the same thing. That means that for the first time in two decades, as The Lookout New ... More >>

A Santa Monica Trailer Park — and Its Senior Residents — Face Off With Fancy New Development

UPDATE: Assembly District 50 Results: Betsy Butler and Richard Bloom Still Lead in Close Race

Update, June 19: Results for the California Assembly District 50 race have been updated, after the break. The California Assembly District 50 race is still super close, with the four candidates within one percentage point of each other. As of today, Assemblywoman Betsy Butler is still leading with ... More >>

Assembly District 50 Results: Richard Bloom To Face Betsy Butler in November, Upsets Torie Osborn

In the hotly contested race for California Assembly District 50, Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom ran strong in a close, four-way battle that included Democratic Assemblywoman Betsy Butler, Democratic candidate Torie Osborn, and gay Republican Brad Torgan. At 2:58 a.m., with 100 percent of the tota ... More >>

Comments: Race to the Finish

California Assembly District 50 Race: Torie Osborn Mailer Rips Into Rival Betsy Butler's Commitment to Education

There's only a week until Election Day, and the contentious California Assembly District 50 race has ramped up several notches, with candidate Torie Osborn sending out a mailer that questions rival and Assemblywoman Betsy Butler's commitment to education. Butler's supporters are now aggressively com ... More >>

California Assembly District 50: Where All the Rich, White, Liberal People in Los Angeles Live

In the current issue of L.A. Weekly, the feature story "Democratic War for L.A.'s Richest" takes a look at the hard-fought, highly contentious political race for California Assembly District 50 -- one of the wealthiest, most celebrity-packed, left-winger districts in the entire country. It also ha ... More >>

Democratic War for L.A.'s Richest

Betsy Butler and Torie Osborn woo the carbon-counting strata of Assembly District 50

Betsy Butler, Assembly Candidate for L.A.'s Westside, Spams 8,000 Residents With Weirdest Campaign Paraphernalia Ever

Betsy Butler's bright idea to attach her campaign flyers to plastic baby bottles must have seemed cute in theory. The current assemblywoman for much of L.A. County's South Bay area is shooting for finer pastures this November: She wishes to reign over the new citizen-drawn District 50, quite possib ... More >>

Santa Monica Spends Earthquake Plum on Ritzy Projects

Skid Row vs. Gensler

Who should get $1 million in poverty funds, the rich or the poor?

Assembly Candidate Torie Osborn Enlists Gay Activists In Fight Against Gay Speaker John Pérez

Torie Osborn​Torie Osborn, a veteran gay activist, is campaigning for a new Assembly district that stretches from West Hollywood to Malibu. She's been lining up big endorsements, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.But Osborn is facing powerful opposition from an unexpected source: Assembly Speak ... More >>

New California Whale Tail License Plate to be Unveiled Today

Don't sue us.​Updated at the bottom with a statement from the Wyland Foundation, which suggests the new plate is a "poor imitation" of the artist's original. First posted at 8:09 a.m. Tuesday. In typical Hollywood fashion, California's iconic whale tail license plate has been retired for a ho ... More >>

Santa Monica Closing Deal For Broad Museum, According To Report

The Broad FoundationEli and Edythe Broad.​The city of Santa Monica is wrapping up a deal to bring billionaire Eli Broad's long-planned contemporary art museum to the seaside town, city officials told the Santa Monica Daily Press. The location would be a 2.5-acre, city-owned lot near the Civic ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Intoxicating Salaries The high wages earned by administrators of the publicly funded Tarzana Treatment Center are raising eyebrows. L.A. TimesProp Company Clears the Set The second-largest film and TV prop company is folding, a victim of production slowdowns due to Industry strike fears. L.A. Daily ... More >>

Santa Monica: The Gridlock Wars Are Here

The city is an inaccessible moat. Residents are going batty

Bike Dislike

Laid-back Santa Monica clashes with Critical Mass

Print-Out Ballot Guide

Endorsements

The Weekly’s recommendations in the November general election

Endorsements (Continued)

The Weekly’s recommendations in the November general election

Playa Vista To Spend Summer in Court

Legal gauntlet begins with hearing next week