Announcing: Santa Monica Next

Streetsblog Los Angeles is excited to announce that sometime in August we will launch a new website for news and views in Santa Monica, Santa Monica Next.

We chose the name because it is future focused and open enough to include a range of issues beyond transportation and land use governance that are also future focused. Gary Kavanagh will be leading our efforts, but Santa Monica next will be neither a mini-Streetsblog or a repackaged Gary Rides Bikes. Right off the bat, we'll be covering issues outside the bounds of traditional Streetsblog coverage. As time progresses, we'll be adding other writers and columnists to the Santa Monica Next team.

We've already assembled a local advisory body to work with Kavanagh to on site creation and expansion. Joining Gary and myself are three Streetsblog Los Angeles Board Members, Juan and Sirinya Matute and Carter Rubin and three other Santa Monica based advocates, Barbara Fillet, Meghan Kavanagh and Joni Yung.

There are four ways you can help us between now and our launch date in late August:

Donate to Our Kickstarter: Santa Monica readers out-donated Long Beach readers during our Spring Fundraiser Drive and Bike Center is already committed to being our first sponsor, but we still need help to (under) pay Kavanagh, cover the other costs of posting online, soliciting guest articles, and hosting the occasional event. The Kickstarter expires on August 25. The more we raise, the more we can do with the website.

Come to Our Fundraiser: On August 18 from 2-6 pm, Juan and Sirinya will host a fundraiser to both celebrate the awards won by the Streetsblog L.A. team and raise funds for the launch of Santa Monica Next. People can decide at the door which website to sponsor, and yes...you can donate through the Kickstarter to pay admittance for the party. The party will feature food and drink, a raffle, great company, bike valet and a rooftop view of Santa Monica. We'll post more details soon. Of course, we have a Facebook Page for that event too.

Join Our Social Media: We have a shell twitter account set up @SaMoNext and a Facebook page here. Join now to help us build our social media presence.

Send Us Suggestions: Is there someone who would be a great contributor? Is there a lead for a sponsor, funder or advertiser that we should know about? Is there a really hot story we don't know about? Send ideas to  gary@santamonicanext.org or damien@santamonicanext.org.