Creator appears in Manhattan Beach as Hellboy dies
Hellboy, the troubled hero of comic book and movie fame, was killed in an epic battle last Wednesday while his creator, Mike Mignola of Manhattan Beach, was calmly signing his work at the Comic Bug store. The large-fisted, horned and tailed Hellboy died when his heart was pulled from his chest in a battle of […]
In memoriam: Boots
by Richard Peck “Boots” Thelen, owner of the Mermaid restaurant, was a feisty old fart, but you had to love him. Unfortunately, his name is now on the little blackboard just above the back bar. You don’t want to be on that blackboard. It means you are dead. One day after “Boots” was gone, I […]
Miss Tweedy’s Halloween
by Nancy Skiba Rose Tweedy was a tad shy of 84 years young. Her silvery hair, worn in a graceful chignon, was like angel hair. Petite, with fair skin and cornflower blue eyes, she was still beautiful. Never married, she was known as a woman of her own mind, more youthful than her years, most […]
Brett Gilbert hits Hermosa Beach with stand-up CD
Comedian and actor Brett Gilbert — relationship critic, germ-a-phobe and advocate of forced gay-porn viewing in Billings, Montana– works without a net in his stand-up CD “Amniotic Fluid,” which he will launch locally with a performance Tuesday in Hermosa Beach. On stage the wiry, energetic Gilbert is a likeable gunslinger, delivering sometimes withering observations in […]
7-year-old Jeremy Perez dies in store accident
A 7-year-old boy was killed Friday morning as he bicycled near the Albertson’s grocery store on Artesia Boulevard in North Redondo Beach. A truck making a delivery accidentally ran over the boy near the store’s loading bay. According to police reports, at about 10:28 a.m. an Albertsons truck was backing into the bay when the […]
by M. A. Cohen This year marks the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, which began in 1861 and ended in 1865. SinceCaliforniahad something to do with starting the war between North and South, I became interested in comparing those days to ours and Googled local museums I could visit. Then, I got distracted. […]
Free hugs
by T.J. Olwig “Brothers don’t shake hands. Brothers gotta hug” – Chris Farley, Tommy Boy It’s not easy to put yourself out there. Even this one page article carries a bit of hesitancy, not much, but just enough to possibly hold someone back. Do I write from my head or do I listen to my heart? […]
More than a game of volleyball
by Carlyn Greenwald It was the end of the boys’ volleyball season forVistamarSchool, a history-making game having just taken place. For the first time in our school’s young history, one of our teams had made it to the CIF playoffs. I wasn’t exactly a huge sports fan. I had never before attended a sporting event. […]
Get your palates ready for The Strand House
The Strand House, a 250-seater, contemporary new American restaurant, opens to the public today. On Tuesday, the restaurant held a charity event benefiting the Roundhouse Aquarium.
The chickens of Manhattan Beach
by Denise Kano My dad did not want chickens. We lived inManhattan Beach, within walking distance of the Safeway. This, to him, seemed like a reasonable enough place to get our eggs. However, for Father’s Day, 1974, he was given six tiny, fluffy, baby chicks from our mom. Reluctantly, he built a large chicken coop […]
California Dreaming
by Pete Whalon “That’s all Mr. Whalon, you’re done,” the woman curtly remarked. “What?” I asked, somewhat confused. “You’re outta the Army; you’re a civilian now, Mr. Whalon. Take your money and run.” Her cynical smile revealed teeth in severe need of a dental hygienist. The portly lady seated behind the glass had quickly counted […]
The passions of Nico Vega
Aja Volkman arrived in Los Angeles seven years ago searching for something more than a rock n’ roll dream. She came in search of her self. Volkman had almost no choice in the matter: she had to sing. She possessed one of those rare voices almost elemental in its power – she sings like the […]
Burglary duo arrested
A burglary victim received unusually swift justice last week. Officers were taking a Redondo Beach man’s theft report at the very same time detectives serving a search warrant in Torrance had found a large cache of stolen goods – including property just stolen from that man’s residence. Torrance police arrested two male suspects. “Literally, at […]
One foot in the grave
by Jex McCartney Off shore howling winds Eight foot and perfect, Right, Sounds like every surfer’s dream, I was almost there, Except for the 80 people in the line up I sit while the dream repeats in my mind. The rocks, The rocks, Blood all over What happened? Its weird, I grew up with […]
Redondo Beach council redistricting shifts voters
What was expected to be a routine redistricting vote erupted into a turf skirmish at last week’s City Council meeting when North Redondo Beach Councilman Steve Diels proposed shifting the AES power plant from Councilman Bill Brand’s South Redondo District 2 to neighboring Councilman Pat Aust’s District 3. The proposal reflected a growing tension between […]
A true story
The 1950s, just after the War and prior to the wild social changes of the ‘60s, nestled its innocent adolescents into a secure niche of American life. People still left their doors open, kids played in parks by themselves, and everybody knew everybody else on every block. Most small towns were just like Mayberry was […]