Ready to sell were Troop 2 Scouts at the 2024 tree lot in Santa Monica. From left to right, top to bottom, Chris, Jefferson, Nick, Matt, Ryan, Owen, Oscar, Alex, Liam, and Evan. Photo by Tara Kowalke Motter Santa Monica’s Boy Scout Troop 2 has opened its annual Christmas tree lot this year at a new location at 2412 Pico Blvd., at the corner of 24th St. and Pico, behind the former Rite Aid drugstore. The lot will operate from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and 9 a.m. to 9

A couple of weeks ago, we reached for the turkey roasting pan – not realizing we hadn’t replaced it. It was one of those quiet reminders that life after loss is a series of discoveries. Some big, some small, but all part of the same journey toward rebuilding what was taken. This December, as lights begin to twinkle across Pacific Palisades and the ocean breeze carries that familiar holiday chill, I find myself reflecting on a year that tested – and ultimately strengthened

Local food banks and charity organizations are putting out the word again this year. Successful efforts begin with the donations provided by West Los Angeles and Santa Monica residents during this holiday season. While local organizations here in are primed up and ready to help those with greater needs, efforts from the larger community make a big difference. The Salvation Army supports multiple outreach projects. Its rehabilitation program is funded through donation

Every December, my family celebrates the holiday season with big feasts, a sparkling tree, and lots and lots of thoughtful gifts, something I could never have imagined having when I was growing up in Shanghai, China in the 1960s. Immersed in holiday music and spirit, we sit around the tree and exchange our tokens of love. At the same time, the festivities of the present always spark in me a bittersweet nostalgia for my past, a past that is now a world away in time and space.

There’s something magical about December in Santa Monica. The palm trees glow with lights, shop windows sparkle, and neighbors smile a little more easily under the soft glow of the season. But even here, with the ocean breeze and the sunshine, the holidays have a way of rushing past us. The lists grow longer, the days grow shorter, and before we know it, December has turned into one big blur of errands, events, and expectations. This year, what if – instead of chasing the