S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
INSIDE St. Joseph Center President & CEO Leaving Organization to Lead LAHSA PAGE 4
January 27 - February 2, 2023 Volume CLXXVII, Issue 181
California Business Group Files Lawsuit Against Santa Monica Transfer Tax Initiative California Business Roundtable files lawsuit The Transfer Tax Initiative By Dolores Quintana A California business organization has filed a lawsuit against a transfer tax initiative that Santa Monica voters approved in the November election. The Transfer Tax Initiative, which was originally known as the Funding for Homelessness Prevention, Affordable Housing, and Schools measure passed on the November ballot in Santa Monica. The measure states, “beginning March 1, 2021, the City Documentary Transfer Tax will remain unchanged at $3.00 per $1,000 value for sales and transfers under $5 million (First Tier Tax Rate). For sales and transfers involving properties valued at $5 million or more, the City’s new Documentary Transfer Tax will be $6.00
per $1,000 of the consideration or property value (Second Tier Tax Rate). The measure was one of two on the ballot and one of the authors was former Mayor Sue Himmelrich. The other was written by some of the other City Council members. However, the California Business Roundtable (CRB) has filed a lawsuit against the city of Santa Monica alleging that “great and irreparable harm will result to members of the plaintiff, and to many other Santa Monica property owners desiring to sell or transfer their real property.” The CRB, also known as The Center For Jobs is located in Sacramento, California. In a statement, the City of Santa Monica said it slips defend the measure against the legal challenge. “Measure GS was approved by a majority of voters this November. The measure will support homelessness prevention, affordable housing, and local schools. The City will defend the will of the people in a lawsuit filed by opponents of the measure. The measure proponents also may have the opportunity to participate directly in the
suit,” reads the statement. The California Business Roundtable did
not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Santa Monica Road Rage Incident Results in Shooting and Arrests for Attempted Murder Manuel JaramilloHeredia and Emilio Reyes were arrested in connection to Tuesday incident By Sam Catanzaro A road rage incident escalated Tuesday in Santa Monica when two acquaintances were involved in a collision before one of the suspects shot several rounds at the other suspect, who then rammed his car into the van of the shooter. Both suspects were arrested for attempted murder. According to the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD), on January 24 around 3:42 p.m., officers were flagged down by several people, who heard gunshots near 6th Street and Broadway. Responding
officers located two vehicles, an SUV and a van, both were involved in a collision. The driver of the SUV, Emilio Reyes, appeared to have a gunshot wound to his upper arm. “SMPD Officers learned that the driver of the van, identified as Manuel Jaramillo, shot several rounds at Reyes. In response, Reyes intentionally rammed his SUV into Jaramillo’s van twice, while he was still inside. Reyes and Jaramillo are known to each other and were involved in an argument prior to the incident,” the SMPD said in a press release. Reyes was transported to a local hospital with a non-life-threatening injury and was subsequently discharged. The handgun used by Jaramillo was recovered, and both vehicles were towed to be processed by Forensics. There are no outstanding suspects. Jaramillo-Heredia, a 52-year-old Inglewood male and Reyes, a 43-year-old from Los Angeles, were both booked for
attempted murder. The case will be presented to the Los
Angeles District Attorney’s Office on January 26 for filing consideration.
Photos: SMPD Left: Manuel Jaramillo-Heredia. Right: Emilio Reyes.