To the wall
The second of 10 planned outdoor murals in Hermosa Beach will be formally unveiled 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11. The unveiling of the mural, on the eastern wall of New Orleans Café, will be viewed from the rooftop of the200 Pier Ave.office-retail complex, where complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a no-host bar will be available.
On hand will be Hermosa artist Chris Coakley, creator of the mural that depicts his daughter using a bucket to pour out the main image, a view of the city pier, a lumberyard, the Strand and several buildings in about 1909.
Ten signed high-quality prints of the mural will be available for auction, and more prints will be available “at a special unveiling price,” organizers say.
The murals are being sponsored by the nonprofit Hermosa Beach Murals Project (hermosamurals.org).
Green tours
The South Bay Branch of the U.S. Green Building Council Los Angeles Chapter, in partnership with Leadership Hermosa Beach, will offer tours and live energy assessments on the Fortunato family’s “Green Idea House” hourly from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11.
Energy Efficiency professionals will demonstrate ways to identify where the home is leaking energy, and the innovative ways the house will save energy.
The Green Idea House onProspect Avenue, created in partnership with local green businesses, is designed to educate the community about energy efficiency and sustainability in building.
Home tours will be lead by Robert Fortunato, President of ForStrategy Consulting, and his home performance contractor, Wes Harding of Harding Construction & Sustainable Solutions.
Information and a registration for a tour can be found at http://tinyurl.com/85arten.
Joining the firm
Attorneys Kirk J. Retz and Evan R. Koch have joined the 26-year-old Hermosa law firm of Baker, Burton & Lundy, which has recovered more than $4 billion for clients in verdicts and settlements.
Retz practices in the areas of construction, real estate and business law, with clients ranging from Fortune 500-size companies to small businesses.
He is a frequent author and lecturer, including at the Re/Max International Summer Conference for Brokers/Owners and Managers and the Pacific Coast Builders Conference.
He serves on the boards of nonprofit organizations including the Del Amo Rotary Club and Torrance South Bay YMCA.
He graduated from Loyola Law School.
Koch is a member of the firm’s litigation practice group.
He graduated with honors from Michigan State University in 2006, where he served as a two-year team captain on the MSU club volleyball team.
After college, Koch spent a year teaching English in a small town outside of Beijing, China. Upon his return, he attended the Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, D.C., graduating cum laude in 2010.
While in law school, he served as a “Note & Comment” editor for the American University Law Review and earned distinctions for his trial work as a student attorney at the school’s general practice clinic.
Koch has also clerked for Judge Reggie B. Walton at U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Judge Rex Heeseman at Superior Court in Los Angeles.
Parents wanted
Area parents of children 13 or younger, as well as expectant parents, are being sought for a dissertation research study regarding parental attitudes.
Couples are encouraged to participate together, and all participants will be entered into a raffle to win one of four $100 gift cards to Target stores.
The research is being conducted by Andrea Rosen of Redondo Beach, a clinical psychology doctoral student at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles. She can be reached at acr2938@ego.thechicagoschool.edu.
Participants will attend a one-hour session in Redondo Beach, completing four questionnaires, three about being a parent and one about demographic information. Several session times are being offered.
The study aims to measure parental perceptions of control over their children’s behavior, and to compare perceived levels of control as the child grows.
