Posts by Mark McDermott
MBFD chief fired for “foot on throat” comments
Manhattan Beach Fire Department Chief Daryn Drum was dismissed last week due to language he used on a conference call with regional public safety officials in which he urged a negotiation tactic of “not taking our foot off their throat,” as well as comments on a local podcast in which he spoke sympathetically of…
Read MoreRealtor Greg Geilman, who had COVID-19, uses ‘Domo Gives’ project to sell three houses free for others impacted by virus
In late March, a strange, distressing, and potentially awful thing happened to Greg Geilman. He fell ill with COVID-19. Geilman, who is 50, started feeling ill and self-isolated on March 12, but was unable to find any medical facility that would test him for the virus. Things took a turn for the…
Read MoreManhattan Beach council to host forum on race relations on July 9
A Manhattan Beach community forum and panel discussion to discuss policing and community partnerships in light of the Black Lives Matter movement sweeping the nation has been scheduled for July 9.
Read MoreLA County to close beaches for the 4th of July weekend
The County of Los Angeles announced Monday afternoon that beaches will be closed the entirety of the 4th of July weekend due to a spike in COVID-19 cases that has brought the county’s total to over 100,000. The closure, which includes parking lots serving beaches, will begin at 12:01 a.m. Friday and be in…
Read MoreBeachLife Festival kicks off SpeakEasy Summer Series with G Love, the Mother Hips, and more
The BeachLife Festival, like everything else in these pandemic-altered times, is finding new ways to keep on keeping on. This week, the festival kicks off a new, monthly live stream called the SpeakEasy Summer Series. Featured artists include G. Love, the Mother Hips, Matt Costa, and Mondo Cozmo. Also making appearances will be local…
Read MoreLivestream Wine Auction raises $1.1 million for Manhattan Beach schools
The 26th Annual Manhattan Wine Auction was truly unlike any of the previous 25 events. First of all, nobody was there, because it didn’t occur at the Manhattan Beach Country Club or anyplace like it — instead, the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation’s signature event occurred throughout the town, on walk streets, in garages, dining…
Read MoreManhattan Beach pier will reopen Monday
The Manhattan Beach pier, which has been closed since late March due to Covid-19 social distancing concerns will reopen Monday. Mayor Richard Montgomery made the request earlier this week, and LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn helped advocate for the reopening of the city’s landmark. The city will be required to power wash the entire…
Read MoreManhattan Beach Council debates reopening pier without LA County approval
“So what is the deal with the pier?” Councilperson Steve Napolitano asked at Tuesday night’s council meeting, at which he led an unsuccessful charge to reopen Manhattan Beach’s signature landmark, regardless of whether doing so was approved by state or county agencies. “We hear that it’s the state, but who cares?” Napolitano said. “They…
Read MoreNot fade away: How Dietz Brothers Music kept its groove in the time of novel coronavirus
Something strange was going on at Dietz Brothers Music during the first weeks of the pandemic. Like every other small business, the shop had closed its doors when state and county officials issued Stay at Home orders in mid-March. But Dietz Brothers is more than a guitar store; the two-story, labyrinthian compound on…
Read MoreHahn seeks Governor’s approval for local businesses to reopen, secures bike path reopening; Manhattan City Council approves opening businesses
Supervisor Janice Hahn responded to the Manhattan Beach City Council’s request to help local businesses reopen by this weekend with a letter to Mayor Richard Montgomery last night in which she expressed a willingness to intervene: “I too have become increasingly concerned with the stringent guidelines for businesses outlined in the Safer at Home ordinance,”…
Read MoreAs Manhattan Businesses rally to open, Council tries to help
Something occurred Tuesday afternoon in downtown Manhattan Beach that hasn’t happened in two months. A group of people gathered. More than 100 people attended a protest aimed at gaining support from City Council to allow businesses to reopen throughout the city. The protest, organized by local Realtor and former council candidate Joe Franklin,…
Read MoreManhattan Beach reopens its Strand
The Manhattan Beach City Council voted to immediately reopen the city’s portion of The Strand in a 3-2 vote Thursday morning. The vote came in the wake of an extension of LA County’s “Safer At Home” public health order released Wednesday, which extended most social distancing measures first implemented in March, including the closure…
Read MoreThe Great Wait Out: Bartenders and musicians endure life under lockdown
On a rainy April afternoon, Michele Gutierez stood solemnly behind the bar, looking around at the empty Patrick Molloy’s in Hermosa Beach, the cavernous room void of bustling conversation and the comforting clink of glasses. A few straggling patrons wandered outside with their beverages in plastic cups, adjusting to the new normal.…
Read MoreThe pandemic in the ICU: An Intensive Care Unit under siege in the time of novel coronavirus
On March 15, a 50-year-old man who’d been feverish and coughing for the previous 10 days arrived at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center’s emergency department. His wife dropped him off at the entrance and by the time she’d parked, hospital workers had already taken the ailing man inside. Doctors were on…
Read MoreLockdown lessons Blue Zones founder Dan Buettner on how to make use of staying at home
National Geographic explorer Dan Buettner has spent the last 17 years researching the places in the world where people live the longest and experience the most happiness. The United States of America is neither. Americans’ lifespans are on average four years less than countries with comparable wealth, 78 years compared to 82 (the Japanese,…
Read MoreSouth Bay Eco Festival expands, virtually
“Every day is Earth Day” has taken on new meaning for the South Bay Eco Festival. The inaugural festival was intended to take place Saturday at Metlox Plaza, bringing together local environmental organizations, businesses, and educational resources to give residents tools to green their lifestyles. The Eco Festival was canceled, as a gathering, after the…
Read More