Hermosa Beach: smoking, money, and the Dirty Boogie
Members of the "Walkers and Talkers" enjoy a smoke-free breakfast at Cafe Bonaparte on Pier Plaza after the city banned smoking on the plaza. Photo
In many ways Hermosa Beach was in a holding pattern in 2011 (see “Simmer down”).
The potentially bankrupting Macpherson Oil lawsuit had seen major action in 2010, and stood poised for still more major action in 2012. But between those bookends, 2011 passed without great consequence. The city’s nightlife scene kept itself out of harm’s way, and potential changes, from municipal outsourcing to skyrocketing business taxes, failed to materialize.
But the year did not pass without event, including approval of the most restrictive smoking ban in the region, the flowering of tattoo parlors in a city that once banned them (see “Tattoo you” in glossy section), and the loss of a beloved civic mainstay.
Cracking down
Hermosa imposed one of the most aggressive smoking bans in the region, and banned the use of polystyrene takeout containers – primarily the oyster-shell boxes for burgers and the like – by restaurants.
On the smoking front, the City Council banned the activity in all outdoor dining areas, on the Strand and Pier Plaza, in parks including the greenbelt, in city parking lots, and on seaside walk streets. The council already had banned smoking on its beach.
The smoking ban, set to begin March 1, 2012, was supported by the Beach Cities Health District, Surfrider Foundation, the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence-South Bay, and the American Lung Association. Supporters cited dangers of second-hand smoke, and cigarette-butt litter that makes its way onto the beach and into the ocean.
Before voting for the ban, Councilman Michael DiVirgilio said he saw up close the effects of tobacco upon a family member.
“I watched, as a teenager, as my grandfather just shriveled as he tried to breathe,” DiVirgilio said.
A lone opposing vote was cast by Councilman Kit Bobko, who facetiously suggested banning tobacco possession altogether in Hermosa.
Bottom line
Money, or lack thereof, continued to be a focus of municipal politics as a national economic downturn drags on.
Residents learned that the city has $14 million in unfunded pension liabilities, thanks to a cautionary report by a Los Angeles County civil grand jury that focused on a handful of municipalities with top-heavy future pension costs. On the plus side, the report noted that Hermosa became the first area city to negotiate a two-tier pension system in which new employees receive leaner benefits.
Seeking to cut its $26 million budget by 10 percent, the City Council voted unanimously to seek cuts in workers’ pay and/or benefits, offer another round of early retirement packages to workers and study a “pay for performance” approach to replace pay raises for city workers based on seniority.
Council members also agreed to consider issuing bonds to pay off some city pension funds, and offered early retirement incentives to another group of employees.
Hermosa in recent years has eliminated 17 employee positions, and negotiated salary freezes for employees the past three years. The current city budget is balanced, with a projected $1 million left over to help fight the $700 million Macpherson lawsuit.
Decision time
In addition to choosing a tax strategy (see “Simmer Down”), Hermosa voters elected David Cohn city treasurer by a 14 percent margin, and returned incumbents Michael DiVirgilio and Peter Tucker to the City Council.
DiVirgilio and Tucker turned back challenges from Hany Fangary and Steve Powers in a race that saw only 10 percentage points separating the four candidates.
Into the sunset
The town lost a beloved civic mainstay when John Workman, the city’s 18-year treasurer, tireless volunteer and 1989 Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year, passed away at age 73, just three days after he was defeated in a bid for reelection. (See “Hermosa Icon John Workman” in glossy section).
Tom Rice shows he can still do the dirty boogie, even at 84 years old.
Dirty Boogie
A suggestive dance by 84-year-old Tony Rice stole the show as he and Dick “The Fox” Mobley were given bronze plaques on the Hermosa Beach Surfers Walk of Fame at the city pier, during a sun-soaked ceremony.
The Dirty Boogie was a dance Rice used to do at seaside parties, and at his induction he paused before an appreciative audience to shake it until they couldn’t take it.
As a kid, Rice slept under lifeguard dories with previous Walk of Fame inductee Dale Velzy to get a jump on the morning waves. Mobley shaped for legendary Hermosa board makers Greg Noll, Hap Jacobs, Bing Copeland and Velzy before running The Ski Surf Shop on Artesia Boulevard for 40 years.
Veteran’s tale
Hermosa once again honored its military service men and women with a candlelight ceremony on Veterans Day, at the foot of the black granite memorial on the east lawn of the Community Center.
Keynote speaker Leonard Brugnola of Hermosa, a Pearl Harbor veteran, told of the chaos and horror 70 years gone when Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes rained death and destruction on the Hawaiian base in an attack that would shock the nation and propel it into World War II.
Brugnola was a young U.S. Navy seaman who had fought only seasickness up until the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, when he frantically searched through the smoky mayhem of the bombed out U.S.S. Pennsylvania for survivors, carrying some men topside only to find that they were dead.
“It was impossible to see through the smoke,” Brugnola said.
“I can’t see, I can’t see,” he heard a man cry. Half his face was destroyed and an eyeball dangled from his head. Another man yelled for help from beneath a press of steel that had collapsed upon the lower half of his body. Brugnola and a workmate got the man topside.
“We took him up there and they said ‘He’s gone, try again,’” Brugnola said.
The rescuers used up their clothing making slings, staunching wounds and shielding their hands from the heat of metal they had to move out of the way. When the smoke cleared, 24 crewmembers were killed aboard the Pennsylvania, 38 were wounded and 14 were missing in action.
Under a full moon and a cloudy sky shedding scattered drops of rain, trumpeter Paul Verner, a Vietnam veteran, played taps.