CITY COUNCIL: Hyperion Outfall Serenaders honored, 50 years as City of MB’s official band
by Mark McDermott At the beginning of Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Mayor Amy Howorth recalled the moment she first heard the official band of Manhattan Beach. Twenty-eight years ago, the Howorth family had newly arrived in town. It was a Saturday morning in October, and Howorth was exhausted. She and her husband and two […]
OCEAN EMERGENCY: Dolphins, other marine wildlife suffering demonic acid poisoning
by Mark McDermott A toxic algal bloom in local ocean waters is causing a wave of sickness and death among dolphins, sea lions, and other marine wildlife. The event, also known as a red tide, is causing many of the animals to wash up in Manhattan Beach. Biologist Eric Martin, co-director of the Roundhouse Aquarium, […]
Ocean View Café, California with a side of Lebanese
by Richard Foss In the mid ‘70s I started hanging out at a little vegetarian café in Manhattan Beach called Sunny Skys. It was on a walk street around the corner from Uncle Bill’s Pancake House, and the tiny interior space was flanked by a patio with a great view of the beach. Sunny Skys […]
Rising from the Ashes: How the local real estate community is helping establish Pali South
by Mark McDermott Annie Hartley loved the house the moment she stepped inside. She is a Realtor in Manhattan Beach, so Hartley has developed a sixth sense about certain homes, kind of like how a sommelier picks up notes in a glass of wine that most people do not. It begins with where the house […]
Baywatch Community Calendar 2-20-25
Spotlight: Saturday, February 22 Lanakila Classic, Seaside Lagoon Open Ocean races (long and short) with outrigger canoes 1- and 2 persons, stand-up and prone paddleboards, surf skis, and V1s. Kids mini-course in the Harbor. Registration opens at 7 a.m. Preregistration online is recommended. $40. Open to the public. Proceeds will be donated to LA Fire […]
City Manhattan Beach Council: Dog run approved for Polliwog Park
by Mark McDermott Five years ago, the City of Manhattan Beach’s master plan for its parks identified a glaring need — more places for dogs to play. The City Council added the priority to its own work plan: “Expand areas for four-legged friends,” the plan said, identifying a few possible areas, including 6th and Aviation […]
Yu-Me, A Good Dream in a Manhattan Beach side street
Yu-Me is a revitalized version of a local favorite by Richard Foss As grand commercial thoroughfares go, Morningside Drive in Manhattan Beach does not stand out. Many readers who just saw that sentence will be scratching their head and looking for the street on a map. I’ll help you – it extends three short blocks […]
HOUSING: Residential developments along Sepulveda, Rosecrans could add over 1,000 new units to Manhattan Beach
by Mark McDermott The first in a wave of new multi-family residential developments meant to address the California housing crisis have begun to arrive as preliminary proposals with the City of Manhattan Beach. Like most cities in California, the City was required by state law to adopt new zoning that allowed for additional residential developments […]
Baywatch Community Calendar 1-23-25
Spotlight: Monday, January 27 Light Gate, Manhattan Beach Light Gate sculpture, installed in 2015, is located at the top of 14th Street, between Manhattan Beach City Hall and the library, along Highland Avenue. The artwork is made of glass, laminated with prismatic lighting film that will create rich and varied light effects with the sun. […]
LA COUNTY WILDFIRES: Palisades fire will impact South Bay real estate
by Mark McDermott The term “housing crisis,” so often used to describe California’s housing shortage, just took on new meaning for the thousands of families who lost homes in the Los Angeles County wildfires in the last week. Many of the 5,000 left without homes in Pacific Palisades are looking for temporary and permanent new […]
Letters to the Editor 1-9-25
Apartment row Dear ER: The residents of Manhattan Beach should know about the five proposed apartment buildings totaling over 1,000 units, with one proposed apartment project at the Fry’s site on Sepulveda Boulevard having a 10-story building and a 7-story building. Yet, Manhattan Beach residents don’t know anything about these projects, and won’t know anything […]
Police Beat: HBPD cameras follow hit and run, shooting in Redondo, ‘bank jugging’ in Manhattan
by Liz Mullen Grant money at work As previously reported, the Hermosa Beach Police Department recently received an $80,000 grant from the state of California for traffic safety and is using a good portion of it to crack down on people driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In the past week, HBPD officers […]
Manhattan City Council: Napolitano, Montgomery bow out, while Tarnay, Franklin, and Charelian step in
by Mark McDermott Steve Napolitano and Richard Montgomery said their farewells at City Council Tuesday night, while Steve Charelian and Nina Tarnay were sworn in as first-time council members. Reelected Councilperson Joe Franklin was also sworn in again. The departure of Napolitano and Montgomery marks the end of an era in Manhattan Beach city government. […]
Ten Photographers Take on Manhattan Beach 2024 Fireworks
A group of ten photographers got together this year to showcase the annual Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks for a video unlike previous editions. What if each of them showed the display from a different point of view throughout the city? (Watch the results above.) And that’s exactly what they did. Evelyn Schmitt, who lives on […]
Labor of love and lights: How Manhattan Beach’s holiday fireworks became a tradition
by Jefferson Graham Back in 1989, Pete Moffett, the owner of Manhattan Coolers, a popular restaurant on Manhattan Beach Boulevard, had a brainstorm: how about fireworks in December, instead of July, as a way to kick off the holiday season downtown? Together with other merchants in the area, he sold the city on the idea. […]
Evelyn Schmitt, the Queen of the Pier, strikes again
by Jefferson Graham Life begins at 80? Who is that lady with the white hair, red jacket, Nikon around her neck and a big tripod that always seems to be under the Manhattan Beach Pier? Not just any senior out for a morning or afternoon jaunt, but the woman many have called “The Queen of […]