Posts by Ryan McDonald
Hermosa Beach schools to close for at least a week [updated]
The Hermosa Beach City School District announced Friday that campuses would close for at least a week, and are likely to remain closed through at least the end of the district’s spring break on April 13, in an attempt to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Instruction will shift online during the closure, making…
Read MoreLiterary success: After 10 years in the community, Manhattan Beach’s {pages} has become a book world destination
In the spring of 2010, Pam Jenning, then an English teacher at Mira Costa High School, received a call from the mother of one of her students. The mother was friends with Linda McLoughlin Figel, one of the owners of the recently opened {pages} a bookstore in downtown Manhattan Beach. McLoughlin Figel and her partners…
Read MorePopular volleyball program faces citations
VolleyCamp, a private beach volleyball program whose south Hermosa games and lessons have earned it a devoted following, is facing penalties from the city in a dispute that highlights the challenges in Hermosa’s attempts to limit unauthorized coaching in public places. Dozens of VolleyCamp supporters descended on a meeting of Hermosa’s Parks, Recreation and Community…
Read MoreHistorical Society raises the curtains with Bijou Theater exhibit
April Wright attends an exercise class at the Bar Method in downtown Hermosa almost every day. In between dips and plies, she marvels that she is taking a class inside a building that once housed a movie theater. The Hermosa resident is the filmmaker behind “Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace,” which…
Read MoreLeadership Hermosa to honor city’s firefighters
A few months ago, Councilmember Stacey Armato was speaking to the Leadership Hermosa Class of 2020 about some of the issues the city is addressing. She mentioned that the city’s fire station, now under construction, would reopen May 9. The fire station news became a spark. Leadership Hermosa’s plans to dedicate this year’s class…
Read MoreState bond measure splits South Bay school districts
When they cast their votes in the March 3 primary election, South Bay residents could be forgiven for thinking they had stepped into a time machine. There’s a divisive measure on the ballot with the potential to greatly change financing for local school districts, and it goes by Proposition 13. The current Prop. 13 is…
Read MoreHermosa Beach Police Beat
Accident dispute turns nasty A woman was arrested after allegedly trying to run a man over following a dispute over a minor collision in North Hermosa earlier this month. Imani Reba Water, 24, was arrested Feb. 8 on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, according to Hermosa Beach Police Department records. She was cited…
Read MoreHermosa Beach About Town
Polling places open Polling places open Voting in the upcoming March 3 primary has begun in Hermosa Beach and other cities throughout Los Angeles County. In response to changes in state law and to update its voting system, the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters has overhauled the machines on which citizens cast their…
Read MoreHermosa Beach launches VR project to show effects of sea level rise
It’s one thing to hear “three feet of sea-level rise.” It’s quite another to see the waves overtake your favorite volleyball court. The difference between those two experiences is at the heart of Look Ahead Hermosa Beach, a new, city-sponsored initiative that uses immersive, virtual reality technology to show what Hermosa’s beaches and coastal attractions…
Read MoreHermosa and Manhattan mayors visit divided D.C. Can cities show Washington how to function?
Opening statements from House managers in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump began Jan. 22. On Jan. 23, Rep. Adam Schiff, the Burbank Democrat who became the most forceful and eloquent voice urging the president’s removal from office, spoke briefly before ceding the floor to fellow impeachment manager Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat from…
Read MoreCouncil picks new logo for city
Daniel Inez has spent the past few months pulled in competing directions. The South Bay native was selected in August from among 48 candidates to design a “refresh” of Hermosa Beach’s logo. And when he unveiled two possibilities at last week’s City Council meeting, he confessed that he was torn between his desire…
Read MoreTransportation plan for North nears completion
When it reopens next year, Hermosa Beach’s North School will likely have space for on-site drop-off and pick-up, but a walking path through Valley Park for an alternative entrance from the east may be years in the future. These were among the conclusions announced Monday evening during the draft presentation of a Neighborhood Traffic Management…
Read MoreCosta clinches share of Bay League title with win in rivalry game
At the end of the first quarter of Tuesday’s girls water polo match between Mira Costa and Redondo Union, the scoreboard read 2-1 Sea Hawks. Both Sea Hawk goals came during six-on-five situations, in which a temporary ejection left Costa down a player. But as the second quarter began, the Mustangs took the lead thanks…
Read MoreHermosa Beach Police Beat
Crash leads to felony arrest A man is in custody after allegedly threatening to kill his girlfriend while driving near Hermosa’s civic center. Rodrigo Valerio Luna, 39, was arrested the evening of Jan. 30 on suspicion of attempted murder, domestic violence, making criminal threats, and assault with a deadly weapon, said Sgt. Mick Gaglia of…
Read MoreThe Thin Green Line: Hermosa Beach police labor group and the city reach a tentative contract deal. Is the dispute really over?
The signs began appearing in early December. They sprouted in front yards throughout Hermosa, like seeds carried by the wind. Businesses put them in windows and along entryways, above cash registers and below displays. One Sunday, City Manager Suja Lowenthal heard the signs had surfaced in the public right-of-way along Bard Street, near the entrance…
Read MoreHorger, Marshall snag annual Chamber honors
The Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau last week announced that John Horger and Merna Marshall had won its annual Man and Woman of the Year honors. Erin and Hillary Condren, owners of Martha’s and the Bottle Inn, were also given the newly established Entrepreneurs of the Year award. The winners were honored…
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