LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Mayor Franklin declares State of the City “strong”
by Mark McDermott Mayor Joe Franklin’s late-starting and very local career in politics has been premised mostly on a single quality. His downright giddy love for his adopted hometown of Manhattan Beach. And so what was surprising about Franklin’s first State of the City address was certainly not its effusiveness but rather its brevity. For […]
MUNICIPAL FINANCE: City has an $11 million library surplus
by Mark McDermott The City Council last week grappled with an unusual problem. Its library fund has an $11 million surplus. The City of Manhattan Beach operates its own library, but the facility is a branch of the Los Angeles County Library System. Property taxes paid into the system by local residents far outpace the […]
Best of the Beach Food & Beverages 2024
Groceries and beverages Grocery Store (Independent) Grow You can’t talk about Grow without talking about the Fisher family, because this thoughtfully operated farmers market of a grocery store is the definition of a family business. The Grow origin story is well known – young Brandon Fisher wanted a boogie board, his dad Barry was in […]
Best of the Beach Home Services 2024
Heating & Air Conditioning Rusher Air Conditioning Only some of the construction cranes popping up like an invasive species all over the beach cities, are hoisting Rusher Air Conditioning HVAC units onto new home rooftops. (HVAC stands for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.) But all 40 midnight blue work vans with Rusher Air Conditioning […]
Hermosan Tom Gruzo was longtime fixture in the jazz world
by Garrick Rawlings Tom Gruzo was a great friend for over 30 years. During the first 13 years we were across-the-street neighbors. I moved into an apartment on Loma drive, next to Clark Stadium right after my divorce in ’96. Tom and his young daughter Niki moved across the street from me a few months […]
Baywatch Community Calendar 3-28-24
Ongoing: Through June 2024 Home in Hermosa exhibit at HB Museum In 1977, former Hermosa Beach Mayor and founding member of the Hermosa Beach Museum Pat Gazin became critically aware of the disappearing historic homes in Hermosa, and set out to record their existence for her first book. In 2023 after the designation of the […]
Best of the Beach Health 2024
Hospital Urgent Care Torrance Memorial Medical Center Torrance Memorial has a 99-year history of treating patients in the community. It has grown to become the largest hospital in the community while maintaining its original mission to offer the most current and effective medical technologies rendered in a compassionate, caring manner. With more than 1,100 physicians […]