Easy Reader Best of the Beach 2016 Retailers and Services

Over 3,000 readers showed their support for their favorite beach retailers and services by voting in Easy Readers 30th Annual Best of The Beach contest. Though any “Best of” vote is more subjective than scientific, Best Of voting gives readers an opportunity to show their appreciation for the many businesses and services that make the beach cities such a wonderful place to live.

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Best optometrist: Stein Optometric Center

Stein Optometric Center, a 56-year-old, family-owned practice, boasts among its physicians a world-renowned expert in refractive surgery, and one of America’s Top 10 Vision Correction Specialists chosen in a nationwide survey of eye surgeons by Ophthalmology Times magazine

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Best Retirement/Senior Care: Sunrise Senior Living

“At Sunrise, we work hard each day to provide seniors with the best possible care in a place that fosters independence, preserves dignity and enhances quality of life in a warm, comfortable and safe environment,” said Andrew Shepphard, director of operations.

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Best in home care: Adia

“It’s not just about care-giving,” said Adia founder and owner Pamela Penson. “It’s about the talent, the heart, the light caregivers bring to the table with every encounter. It’s not made with pity or obligation. It’s made with connection, civility and accountability.”

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Redondo Beach School Board talks field turf at Birney

  Birney Elementary School is among the smallest school sites in Redondo Beach — an eye test from a map tells you that you could drop Birney’s land area directly onto that of most any school in the Redondo Beach Unified School District and still have space left over. So when District Superintendent Dr. Steven…

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Supervisor candidate Mike Gin eyes County’s Fourth District

  The City of Redondo Beach covers 6.2 square miles of land, and Mike Gin has knocked on most every door in town. Famously, he was known for wearing holes in his shoes during his canvassing campaign for City Council in the late 1990s. Los Angeles County’s Fourth District covers 458 square miles, from Marina…

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Redondo Beach Fire Department looks to provide ambulance services

  The Redondo Beach Fire Department is looking to begin providing its own emergency medical transportation, breaking away from Los Angeles County-supplied services after more than a decade. For the past ten years, McCormick Ambulance Company has been providing services for Redondo Beach under a contract with the county. The contract is up for renewal…

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Camera store: Paul’s Photo

Paul’s Photo has prospered during the transition from film cameras to digital cameras by offering photo classes and excursions — from Madrona Marsh to Kilimanjaro and places in between, including Joshua Tree, Yosemite, Death Valley, Monterey and Alaska.

“Running stores offer runs, nurseries offer planting classes. We’ve created a symbiotic ecosystem with our stores sales, printing lab, classroom instruction and photo excursions.

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Shopping: Del Amo Fashion Center

Last October, Del Amo Fashion Center completed a $200 million effort to restore Del Amo Fashion Center to the upper echelon of luxury shopping centers.

The “Grand Entrance” welcomes shoppers with a two-story square wall of glass with panes designed to cast shadows across the Grand Court’s curving, cream colored interior as the sun rises, until light and shadows can spill in from the enormous skylights. The skylights hover 61 feet over the main floor.

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Grocery store: Trader Joe’s

Next fall, the South Bay’s ninth Trader Joe’s will open in Hermosa Beach in what was formerly known as the Ralph’s Shopping Center on Pacific Coast Highway. The foodie emporium has over 400 stores nationwide, each one designed to fit the local neighborhood, according to spokesperson Alison Morhizuki.

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Realtor: Donald McVicar

What makes Donald McVicar a good negotiator is the eight years he spent negotiating shipping fees for a Japanese fishing company. What makes him a good Realtor, he said, is his institutional knowledge and personal commitment that comes from having grown up in the beach cities.

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Hospital: Torrance Memorial

Amid widespread consolidation in the medical industry, Torrance Memorial Medical Center has remained independent and locally governed. But that hasn’t stopped it from remaining a leader in its field.

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