Hermosa Beach ‘Saint Mike of Public Works’
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”3016″ display=”pro_mosaic”] Mike Flaherty recalls a lifetime of service looking after the city’s streets, buildings and residents by Elka Worner For nearly four decades, if something went wrong in Hermosa Beach – sewer backups, troublesome rodents, parking disputes – former Public Works Superintendent Mike Flaherty was the guy to call. From 1973 to 2010, Flaherty worked for the city’s Public Works Department. He and his crews enjoyed a well-earned reputation for problem solving and responsiveness. They were well known and much appreciated. “We were popular because we had trucks, shovels and men to do things,” he recalled. Their orange shirts and well-stocked trucks made them a familiar sight. “We were also the most visible,” he said, “outside of the police officers.” He shared tales of those busy days with a group of history buffs at Gitana Café late last month as part of the Hermosa Museum’s “Café Stories: Voices from Hermosa.” Flaherty told the group he moved from upstate New York to Hermosa on a whim, tagging along with a new acquaintance from a local bar who, like him, was tired of Niagara Falls winters. And, like any two guys who met at a bar might…
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