Posts by Kevin Cody
Redondo Beach Breakwall dolphin crew
Photos by Charlie Scholz Local dolphins asserted their position in the line up at the Redondo Beach Breakwall Wednesday morning during 2022 first significant swell.
Read MoreOne day, two big South Bay breaks, by Balzer
Wednesday morning, photographer Mike Balzer went to Hammerland for the first solid swell of 2022. Matt Mohagen and Noah Collins were out, so he knew Hammerland was its big, scary self. In the afternoon he went to the Redondo Breakwall. It was as big and fast as Hammerland, even without the signature bounce off the…
Read MoreBack to the table: Top 10 new South Bay restaurants in 2021
by Richard Foss At the outset of 2021 I wasn’t expecting improvement in the local dining scene. Openings in 2020 had been better than expected, but those projects were already in the pipeline, and one might expect few new ones to be planned. Surely investors would be cautious due to the ban on indoor dining,…
Read MoreRedondo Parras Middle Schooler defeats veterans in SB Boardriders/Dive N Surf longboard competition
by Kevin Cody South Bay Boardrider contests are notable for showcasing emerging young surfers. Over the past two years sisters London, 12, and Teagan Meza, 9, and 12-year-old Marlo Harris have proven young girls can beat young boys. But never in the contests’ 10-year history, has a new, young competitor beaten older veterans as convincingly…
Read MoreHermosa Beach Chamber awards not your father’s chamber awards
by Kevin Cody The annual Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce Awards and Officer Installation Dinner will look different this year. There will be familiar awards such as Best New Business, Best of Hermosa Business and Chamber Member of the Year. But there will also be a Made in Hermosa Award, a Making a Difference Award,…
Read MoreCOVID closes Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach city halls
The Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach City halls will be closed this coming week in an effort to minimize the spread of the Omicron virus. The City of Redondo Beach has not announced any change in hours for the coming week. The Hermosa Beach City Hall will be closed until Monday, Jan. 10, the city…
Read MoreWater cold, air colder for Hermosa Beach Polar Bear Swim 2022
The Hermosa Beach New Year’s Day Polar Bear Swim deserved it’s name this year. The air was 50 degrees and the ocean water was 58 degrees at the Hermosa Beach pier. “I do it for penance. I did a lot of bad things last year,” said Sharron Thompson, a Torrance School District swim coach, and…
Read MorePolliwog Park in Manhattan Beach protects homes by collecting rain runoff
Polliwog Park did what it is designed to do during Thursday’s heavy rain, by collecting rain runoff, and providing food and a resting place for local and migratory water birds. And providing a place for residents to celebrate nature’s gifts over the holiday season. The pond functions as a retention basin. Water is stored in…
Read MoreThree mile Redondo Beach storm drain carves canyon to the ocean
Thursday’s rainwater runoff from a storm drain just north of the Redondo Beach Breakwater carved a quarter-mile long channel in the sand on its way to the ocean. The storm drain starts collecting street runoff three miles inland, at the Henrietta Water Basin, next to West Torrance High School. A water reclamation project meant to…
Read MoreTemplate of a shaper: Hap Jacobs builds his last board
Editor’s note: the following story originally appeared in Easy Reader in April, 2019. Hap Jacobs has shaped his last surfboard. The board is a clear glassed, 9-foot, single fin Performance model, with a redwood stringer down the middle and red pin stripes wrapping the rails. Jacobs never made showy surfboards. Nor, despite his legendary status,…
Read MoreSanta flees cold for police tour of balmy Hermosa
Santa enjoyed a break from the Arctic cold by visiting balmy (48 degree) Hermosa Beach Friday evening. Police Chief Paul LeBaron and his wife Jennifer gave Santa a tour of the town in the police department sleigh. Officer Dalton Blumenfeld rode shotgun, and Elves Patrol Officers Ryan McBride, Kevin Jones and Stephanie DeAndrade followed…
Read MoreSouth Bay Boardriders’ contest showcases young, new surf stars
by Kevin Cody The future of South Bay surfing was showcased last Saturday, at 42nd Street in Manhattan Beach, and he is a she. Marlo Harris, 11, a Beach Cities native, now living in wave rich Dana Point, won the combined boys and girls division (14 and under), and the open women’s division at the…
Read MoreStars and moon come out for 29th Annual King Harbor Yacht Club Boat Parade
The stars and the moon shined brightly over the 29th Annual King Harbor Yacht Club Boat Parade on Saturday evening. Crowds lined the main channel to view over two dozen boats colorfully decorated with traditional holiday trees, candy canes and Santas, as well as traditional (for the King Harbor Boat Parade), dolphins, a whale, a…
Read MoreWidman helped preserve small town Hermosa Beach during Good Government era [Updated]
by Kevin Cody by Kevn Cody One month prior to his death, last Wednesday, former Hermosa Beach City Councilman Lance Widman participated in a videotaped discussion with George Schmeltzer, George Barks and Jim Rosenberger. The four served on the council together during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The discussion was videotaped at the Hermosa…
Read MoreWidman was Hermosa councilman, school board member, ECC professor
Former Hermosa Beach councilman, school board member, and El Camino College civics professor Lance Widman died Wednesday morning from conditions related to congestive heart failure. He was 76. Widman also served as executive director of the South Bay Center for Dispute Resolution (SBCDR) for the past two decades.
Read MoreInglewood principal Mendoza, Redondo Beach refugee activists Gabriel, Katie-Jay Scott Stauring victims of auto accident
by Kevin Cody The three people who died in a four-car collision last Tuesday evening at the intersection of Marine Avenue, and Pacific Coast Highway, in Manhattan Beach, have been identified as Christian Mendoza, 48. Gabriel Stauring, 55, and his wife Katie-Jay Scott Stauring, 40, all of Redondo Beach. Mendoza was the newly appointed principal…
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