First, Hunter repeat in South Paddleboard Race at Hermosa Beach Pier
by Kevin Cody After months of cold, snotty water, the ocean was welcoming to paddlers participating in the Sixth Annual South Bay Paddle on Saturday, June 8. The temperature was still an ice cream headachy 60 degrees, but the water was smooth as glass. The result was record times in both the men’s and women’s […]
UConn coach Hurley humiliates Lakers with rebuff
by Paul Teetor The Lakers coaching search is now officially embarrassing. And confusing. And chaotic. The hoops world looked on in wonder as the Lakers were humiliated Monday afternoon by University of Connecticut Coach Dan Hurley. After three days of mulling over their $70 million, six-year offer to become the new face of the purple […]
Hermosa man mad as hell at rude, young e-bikers, not taking it anymore
by Kevin Cody Richard Roe is mad as hell at rude, young e-bikers. Twice, in recent weeks, the 83-year-old Hermosa Beach resident has been harassed by packs of teenage e-bikers as he bicycled home from American Junkie, on Pier Plaza, where he plays ping pong most afternoons. “I have a pacemaker. I have two knee […]
Hermosa Beach Police Chief Lebaron honored by California Police Chiefs
by Ryan Walker Public information officer Hermosa Beach Hermosa Beach Police Chief Paul LeBaron was named recipient of the California Police Chiefs Association’s (CPCA) 2024 Joseph T. Molloy Award during the Installation Banquet of the organization’s 47th Annual Training Symposium on Tuesday, May 21. The award is named in memory of former Anaheim Police […]
Hermosa Beach Chamber President libel suit lifts veil on social media wars
by Kevin Cody Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce President Jessica Accamando, and her wife, Ashley Tull, have filed a libel lawsuit against Hermosa Beach residents Matt McCool and Kent Allen, seeking unspecified damages. McCool, a business consultant, and former Hermosa Beach Emergency Preparedness Commissoner, has been publicly critical of Accamando in her role as Chamber […]
Maria’s and Abu’s Pet Mart was a Hermosa Beach gathering place for half a century
by Kevin Cody Asked in 2019 if competing against pet chain stores was a challenge, Abu Siddiq answered, “It’s a challenge for them to compete against us. We own our property and our labor costs are low.” Siddiq’s wife Maria had owned Pet Mart in Hermosa Beach since 1975. The two became partners in the […]
BeachLife Festival in Redondo Beach goes from blowout to blown out
by Kevin Cody Billy Gibbon’s long red beard was blowing so hard in the wind Sunday evening when he took to the LowTide stage at the BeachLife Music Festival that it looked like he might sail away. Half an hour later he did, along with his ZZ Top bandmates. Several thousand fervent fans dancing in […]
Manhattan team scores Rams Draft Experience videos
by Kevin Cody Two behind-the-scenes videos of last weekend’s Rams Draft Experience in Hermosa Beach were produced by the Manhattan Beach video production team of Travis Laubacher and Melissa Milo. Laubacher is a director of photography whose clients include AEG, and Nickelodeon. His instagram account (@cameraguytravis) also includes reels of South Bay life, including skateboarding, […]
Hermosa Beach Rams fans celebrate draft pick Jared Verse, and return of announcer Sam Lagana
by Kevin Cody To most of the thousand-plus fans cheering in front of the Rams Draft Experience stage on the sand, south of the Hermosa Beach pier Thursday afternoon, emcee Sam Lagana is the “voice of the Rams” at SoFi Stadium. But when Lagana welcomed Hermosa Beach Mayor Justin Massey and fellow city officials to […]
‘Beatle Bob’ Wagstaff founded Pier Music
Robert Gene Wagstaff, owner of Pier Music in Hermosa Beach, and popularly known as “Beatle Bob,” passed away on February 12 from natural causes. Wagstaff opened Pier Music, at 127 Pier Avenue in 1979, and sold and repaired guitars. He was a gifted luthier and technician who repaired countless guitars and vintage amplifiers for South […]
Coastal Commission targets Hermosa Beach short term vacation rental ban
by Kevin Cody In 2016, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach city councils banned short term vacation rentals (STVRs) in residential neighborhoods. Both cities subsequently were sued by residential property owners with short term rentals in the coastal zone, where most of the cities’ hundreds of STVRs are located. The coastal zone extends 1,000 feet inland […]
Patti Astor was ‘Queen of the Scene,” from NYC to Hermosa Beach
by Kevin Cody Patti Astor was the “Queen of the Scene” in New York City in the early 1980s, according to ARTnews; and for the past decade, a muse and mentor to the emerging Hermosa Beach’s art scene, according to ShockBoxx gallery owner Mike Collins. Astor passed away last week at her home in Hermosa […]
SweeperGate ‘Bogus News,’ no sweeper ticket policy change, Hermosa Beach Police say [UPDATE]
by Kevin Cody A story posted on Easy Reader’s website and Facebook page last Wednesday, March 20, stated Hermosa Beach Parking enforcement is now ticketing cars parked on streets during street sweeping hours after the street sweepers have passed. The city website states parking is allowed after street sweepers have passed. The following day, Thursday, […]
From the mountains to The Strand: Mammoth offers model for South Bay para athletes
A skiing, biking and paddling program for people with disabilities in snowy Mammoth Lakes is a model for for the sunny South Bay by Marisa Gierlich The concept of “adaptive recreation” dates back to the 1924 Paris Silent Games (Deaflympics). The games were the first international competition for athletes with disabilities. During the World War […]
Hermosa Beach partners with Rams on draft day beach watch party
by Kevin Cody In Monday’s Los Angeles Times, veteran NFL reporter Sam Farmer wrote a mock draft in which he predicted 338 pound Oregon Duck center Jackson Powers-Johnson will be the Los Angeles Rams’ first round draft pick. “This might not be a sexy pick…but it’s an important position to lock down,” Farmer wrote. Sexy […]
Manhattan Beach BevMo rash of smash-and-grabs ends with crash
Fourth time one too many for BevMo suspects The case of the multiple, early morning smash-and-grab BevMo burglaries ended with a crash and Manhattan Beach Police officers arresting four suspects. Deondrae Glenn Jenkins, 33; Emmalee Shaquica Rosser, 20; Marcia Mary Populas, 21; and a juvenile whose name was not released, were arrested for burglary by […]