Old school music instruction at Music Focus
by Karl Grossman It’s with great pleasure I write to you future dwellers of our great music quest here in 2013. No doubt some of this report may find you wriggling with laughter. We actually have to put things in our ears or use conical paper housings coupled to electro-magnets to hear sounds. Sonic implantation […]
Chevron El Segundo covers new and old energy bases
Yesterday, you may have seen one of the six large steel drums that make up the core elements of our Coker Unit being transported along Pacific Coast Highway, from King Harbor in Redondo Beach. Over the past year, we have been working with our neighbor cities to plan this activity, which is important to help […]
Climbing the financial Wall of Worry in 2013
by Bob Franko Two years ago, as the economy was beginning to recover, I wrote about “The Start of a Virtuous Cycle.” Last year, I said the future looked bright for 2012. Looking back, both articles were pretty much on point. Things turned around in 2011, and then we looked back on 2012 and marveled […]
AES power plant to play key role in Redondo Beach
California is boldly going where no state has gone before. We’re increasing our use of renewable energy to 33 percent by 2020, targeting an 80 percent reduction in green-house-gas emissions by 2050 and drastically reducing our use of ocean water for power generation by 2021 — all while maintaining stable, reliable electricity supplies to ensure […]
Tipping the health scales in Hermosa, Manhattan and Redondo
The childhood obesity epidemic reached our community in the early 2000s. In 2005, California Physical Fitness Testing results showed that more than 25 percent of Redondo Beach elementary school children were overweight. That year, the Beach Cities Health District created the LiveWell Kids obesity prevention program to halt the epidemic. Our most recent annual body […]
Church is not just a place in the beach cities
On January 27 of this year, Malibu Presbyterian Church opened the doors of their newly rebuilt sanctuary. Five years earlier, their church had been gutted by the Canyon Fire, which charred more than 4,000 acres and destroyed 21 structures. When asked by local media how it felt to have his church burn to the ground, […]
The newspaper is dead
The newspaper is dead. Yes, I said it, and I said it in a newspaper. Before everyone gets upset and sends me negative tweets and posts lets all recognize that we need to figure out a way for the newspaper industry to evolve before it ceases to exist. If you are one of the few […]
Newspapers looking for death sentence reprieve
At the crowded opening of Congressman Henry Waxman’s office at Raleigh Studios last month, I asked the Beach Cities’ new Representative his opinion on oil drilling in Hermosa Beach’s tidelands. The ranking member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee is not easily blindsided. Though his district was expanded just this year to include the […]
Oil recovery will benefit Hermosa Beach
by Steve Layton Today’s safe and environmentally responsible directional drilling technology will enable the recovery of tidelands and onshore oil resources from a single onshore location. This will protect the coastal community and deliver substantial benefits to Hermosa Beach. That is what E&B Natural Resources is proposing, and what the City of Hermosa Beach will […]
Community college training key to California economy
by Ted W. Lieu, Senator, 28th Senate District California is turning the corner. For the first time in a long time, we have a balanced state budget this year, with a projected surplus next year. We created more jobs last year than any other state, and at a higher rate. The Los Angeles Economic Development […]
Beach Cities Progress Report 2013
Mike Lee, AIA on architecture Lisa Santori, MD on health Greg McNally on restaurants Senator Ted Lieu on government Pastor Chris Cannon on The Church Eric Pendergraft on AES Jim Light, Councilman Bill Brand on AES Dave Andrews on journalism Kevin Cody on journalism Robert Franko on the economy Raju Chhabria on real estate Bill Simone on construction Rod Spackman on Chevron El Segundo Karl Grossman on […]
Better is the new more in beach city architecture
by Michael Lee, AIA My grandparents bought their property in North Manhattan Beach in 1952 for $900. That was big money in the 1950s, but the lot they purchased was in a sweet location, with an ocean view, on one of the new “walk streets,” a couple of blocks from the beach. My grandfather, an […]
Restaurant families expanding in the beach cities
by Greg McNally I recently conducted a non-scientific survey of local restaurants. I took out my trusted notebook and toured from 8th Street in Hermosa Beach to 15th Street in Manhattan Beach, counting all the restaurants west of Valley Drive. I counted 108, not including markets, liquor stores and two wine shops. Of the 108 […]
Measure A would revitalize Redondo waterfront
Measure A gives Redondo voters a once in a lifetime opportunity to permanently rid our waterfront of the AES power plant and its economic, environmental and health impacts. But AES wants to build a new power plant; and they are not going down without a fight. Measure A stems from a new California environmental law […]
Low inventory bode well for beach for real estate
by Raju Chhabria The current SouthBay residential real estate market in the SouthBay is a strong one. Inventory is low. Manhattan Beach only has 40 properties on the Multiple Listing Service as active, ranging from a townhouse in ManhattanVillage for $779,000 to my listing at 1240 fifth Street for $7.99 million. Hermosa Beach has even […]
It’s not Hermosa’s oil
by George Schmeltzer Twenty years ago the issue of oil drilling in Hermosa Beach was put to bed by a vote of the people, or so we thought. Now, it’s back with a vengeance and the residents of this “best little beach city” must do battle once again with a very well-funded and determined oil […]