Letters to the Editor 1-5-26

Time management 

Dear ER:

The Tuesday, January 27 Hermosa Beach City Council meeting adjourned at 11:46 p.m., for a duration of five hours and 42 minutes. The majority of the time was devoted to only a few significant agenda items. Mayor Rob Saemann and Councilmember Dean Francois were the primary contributors to Tuesday’s lengthy discussions, often dominating the conversation with redundant questions of staff and aimless comments. The last six council meetings have averaged about four-and-a-half hours.

The City Manager’s report, which traditionally informed residents about government updates, has been rescheduled to the end of council meetings. Additionally, reports from the Police Chief regarding public safety are no longer included in Council meetings. The same is true for the Public Works Director’s report, which previously provided the status of road repairs, sewer upgrades and capital improvements. Yes, this adds time, but these were among the most informative agenda items that affect residents.

Hopefully, the next Hermosa Beach mayor will be more efficient at running meetings.

Ira Ellman

Hermosa Beach

Laborous Day fiesta

Dear ER:

The Hermosa Beach City Council’s decision to grant the Chamber of Commerce’s request for a Labor Day fiesta without determining if there was broad resident or even broad business district support is unfortunately far too reminiscent of the decisionmaking and disregard for community input that were the hallmark of the previous council and city manager.

It’s obvious the community is divided and many don’t support a second three-day Fiesta that will clog our roads with traffic and roadblocks, honking cars, tourist buses screaming up and down residential streets every seven minutes and sucking up parking just so the chamber can make money hand over fist.

I can tell you firsthand what the fiesta has meant on my street (27th) over the years: hours long traffic jams all three days that make is nearly impossible to leave your house, the constant smell of auto exhaust in our yards, constant honking and angry drivers stuck on Gould AVenue then speeding down Morningside Drive to avoid the traffic, no nearby parking, meaning you can’t go shopping and most importantly, no Labor Day gatherings.

I recognize that some residents like the idea of a second fiesta, but the council offered absolutely no evidence whatsoever that there was either broad resident or business district support for this fundraiser.

Many believe the Memorial Day weekend fiesta is more than enough and feel the community deserves at least one of the two major three-day summer season holidays without a major fundraising event and the deleterious impacts it brings   

And on top of that, the council waived $30,000 annually in indirect Fiesta expenses despite the fact that the Chamber expects to make $300,000 in profits.

This is not good governance, and the result was a rushed fiesta decision because city staff chose to bring the Chamber’s St. Patty’s Parade requests before the council at the last moment, too late to fully consider the options. There was no reason the parade and the second fiesta decisions had to be linked. But that decision surely thwarted a fair hearing on the pros and cons of the Chambers proposal for a new, high impact Labor Day fiesta.

Tony Higgins

Hermosa Beach

Council chamber echos

Dear ER:

It started for me around the No on Taxing Hermosa conversation and was heightened in the aftermath of the city management change. At the time, I believed, perhaps naively, that these were merit-based discussions, not political litmus tests. I assumed reasonable people could disagree, weigh evidence differently and still respect one another’s intentions. Then I felt a shift.

In a few conversations with politically active circles, a clear message surfaced: If you’re not with us, you must be against us. 

Initially, I brushed it off. But a recent conversation with a client and someone connected to a local school board brought it into sharp focus. That same mindset appears in that ecosystem as well, and not as debate, but as a deterrent to open discussion.

Researchers call this the silo effect or echo chambers. This doesn’t require bad intentions. It often happens quietly among people who believe they’re acting in the community’s best interest.

Hermosa Beach will be strongest when we resist this pattern. Progress doesn’t come from unanimity, it comes from respectful friction, open dialogue, and the courage to think for ourselves.

Here’s the question we should be asking:

Are we building a community that invites the next generation to think, explore, and challenge or one that teaches them belonging matters more than independent thought? 

Ed Hart

Hermosa Beach

Row over ROW

Dear ER:

The Metro decision to move the rail line along Hawthorne Boulevard was not the result of quiet political advocacy (“Row over ROW,” ER January 29, 2026). It happened because residents organized and refused to accept a harmful route through their neighborhoods. Recent claims suggesting former Redondo Beach City Councilmember Christian Horvath played a significant role in this outcome do not withstand scrutiny. In 2018 Horvath sent a city letter without first engaging affected residents. While he expressed a preference for Hawthorne Boulevard, it also stated that the right-of-way option was acceptable if mitigations such as trenching were considered. That equivocation mattered and directly conflicted with residents who were clearly opposing that alignment.

Years later, when residents asked Horvath why he never consulted with them before taking a position, he offered no explanation. Instead, he responded with hostility—insulting fellow councilmembers, dismissing residents, and accusing Mayor Bill Brand and community advocacy groups of lying. 

His closest political ally, former Councilmember Laura Emdee, reinforced this record in 2018 when she stated residents should have expected rail impacts dating back to 1992—a comment notable for its lack of empathy. Residents deserve honesty, not revisionist history. The Hawthorne Boulevard decision belongs to the community that fought for it—not to officials now seeking credit after the fact.

Wayne Craig

Redondo Beach

ROW over kudos

Dear ER:

I was interviewed for this article by reporter Garth Meyer, and must say I was given the most unfair shake of all (“Row over Row over,” ER January 30, 2026). Not to mention the rage-baiting nuances implied here by framing this in a blaming kind of way, which only perpetuates problematic narratives.

Why not give us the kudos we deserve? Why would 13 county leaders vote unanimously in our favor if it wasn’t for the good of the region, the entire county plus the environment? Especially when I shared what went into my work to point out the flaws of Metro’s planning on their proposed project. I spoke of the years of deep dives, the extreme environmental risks construction of this nature would present to the surrounding communities (not just Lawndale and North Redondo Beach) and debunking the many false narratives plaguing us for 15 years?

One of my working partners thought perhaps Meyer didn’t understand all I did. He seemed to have a bias without personal knowledge of how hard our grassroots team had to work for a number of years to let the Metro Board Of Directors know what we all would be dealing with here.

Meyer never called me back to finish our interview as promised. Instead he opted to make me sound like a nutcase. This article should have been more of an effort to bring the communities together. This decision is great news for everyone, whether they know it or not.

Niki Negrete-Mitchell

Managing Partner, Right of Say

Founder, Redondo Beach Quality of Life Coalition (RBQoL)