The Iron Lady: Thatcher revisited, by Streep
Margaret Thatcher did a great deal for the women’s movement in spite of herself. As abhorrent as I found her philosophy and policies, she was one of the first women who successfully removed the word “woman” from her descriptor. She was not the female Prime Minister of England; she was, simply (or more to the […]
American Farmhouse [RESTAURANT REVIEW]
American Farmhouse Tavern integrates regional cooking with high style Until recently, unless you lived near Santa Maria you probably had no idea that this farm-oriented community on the road to San Francisco had its own cuisine. You’ve had it any time you ordered tri-tip at a steakhouse, since before Santa Marians started grilling this cut […]
The Nightlife: A Few of our Favorite Things
by Anna Cox and John Paul Ziller These are a few of our favorite things….Horiatiki Salad at Petros….Bistec Espelette at Mediterraneo….Tradicional Margarita at Mucho….Blake Donaldson at American Farmhouse Tavern….Caprese Salad Stack at Underground….Mignonne Savory Crepe at Crème de la Crepe….Ginger Mojito at Rok Sushi….Jake & John, indie folk pop acoustic duo in Hermosa…. Melenzana alla […]
Entertainment: The Year in Pictures
From El Segundo down the coast to Palos Verdes, art galleries are featuring new work every few weeks. The Power of Art, as usual was a big hit, and so was Flag Stop. Picking one example from each month leaves plenty of stones unturned, but the point is, there’s never a time when there […]
Special needs dog stolen
Harmony, a three-month-old American bulldog with special needs, was stolen from a car at the Manhattan Village mall at around 11:15 a.m. on Tuesday.
The Decision: Cori Desmond’s killer finally brought to justice
Cori Desmond’s killer, 36 year-old Mira Costa High School graduate Tony Lopez Perez, was finally convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison last July after an almost three year investigation. It took the jury just one day to return a verdict. Perez, who was convicted of killing a […]
For whom the bell tolled: community leaders who passed away in 2011
Hermosa icon John Workman In November Hermosa dignitaries, friends and family filled much of the large Community Center playhouse to say goodbye to longtime City Treasurer John Workman, who died of an apparent heart attack at age 73, just three days after he lost a reelection bid. Workman’s body lay within a stately casket surrounded […]
Vitality cities: the Beach Cities’ quest for longer, healthier lives
The revolution began at Eat at Joes. Its leaders included a man with a grey handle-bar mustache who wore a bright yellow vest, an exuberant college professor from Iowa who came bearing the gifts of smaller plates, and a long-legged explorer who’d once bicycled from the arctic to the end of South America but who […]
Sue City: Manhattan Beach hit with claims, lawsuits
After Roxanne Diaz’s appointment as Manhattan Beach city attorney in September, the self-described “new kid on the block” inherited a stack of claims and lawsuits filed against the city of Manhattan Beach. She may be new to Manhattan Beach, but the Los Angeles native has provided legal services to many cities, including Hidden Hills, Indio […]
Behind the wheels: Marissa Christiansen steers the South Bay Bike Coalition to success
When Marissa Christiansen was completing her master’s degree in urban planning at USC in 2008, she and five classmates drafted a campus bike plan. “There’re thousands of bikes roaming campus at any given moment, and there are no bike lanes, very few bike racks, and pedestrians getting mowed down by cyclists all the time,” she […]
2011: The Year in Review
2011 in was a year of doings and undoings, actions and inaction in the Beach Cities. The Easy Reader each year takes a year-end look at the people and issues that passed through our pages. This year, in addition to the Year in Review compilations for Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach, we singled out 11 stories, including three people whose actions significantly impacted the community, the top issues that commanded each respective city’s attention, and the community leaders who passed away in 2011.
Tattoo Beach: The quiet persistence of an artist opens Hermosa to the brave new world of tattoo parlors
Artist Johnny Anderson opened his landmark tattoo parlor just before the dawning of the year, but it was in 2011 that he became the Johnny Appleseed of tattoos, watching as three more parlors followed the road that he had paved. The shops opened after Anderson, 32, spent three years in the court system overturning a […]
Culinary kaleidoscope: more variety makes the South Bay a dining scene winner
Palmilla chef Christina Cipres is diplomatic when asked to compare what she serves with the fare provided by other restaurants on the Pier Plaza. “I’ve dined at a lot of the places in the pier area, including the taverns and pubs, and at all price points I’ve had very good food,” she insists. Nevertheless she […]
Gallery goddess Peggy Zask
Running an art gallery takes smarts – and passion Peggy Zask has been providing a place for visual artists to show their work for over two decades. In the last couple of years she’s had to move twice, but each time she’s landed in a better location. Today Zask Gallery has a strong presence at […]
Simmer Down: Hermosa Beach’s year that wasn’t
It was the year that almost happened in Hermosa Beach, but didn’t. A potentially bankrupting $700 million lawsuit kept the city in a holding pattern, the frequently controversial nightlife scene kept itself out of harm’s way, and the town was largely spared from the ax man and the tax man. As 2012 prepared to dawn, […]
Hermosa Beach: smoking, money, and the Dirty Boogie
In many ways Hermosa Beach was in a holding pattern in 2011 (see “Simmer down”). The potentially bankrupting Macpherson Oil lawsuit had seen major action in 2010, and stood poised for still more major action in 2012. But between those bookends, 2011 passed without great consequence. The city’s nightlife scene kept itself out of harm’s […]