RBPD style
Dear ER:
Redondo Beach Police have always been the best of all the police in the South Bay (“Police find suspect in fatal North Redondo Beach shooting,” ERNews.com, June 18, 2016).
Robert Swader
ER Facebook comment
School power
Dear ER:
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District and Manhattan Beach School Board wield enormous power in this town, and those who dare speak truth to power are often subjected to its brutal wrath. The board’s vindictive action against outlier member Christine Cronin-Hurst for shining a dissenting light upon potentially unlawful practices regarding the district’s widely unpopular decision to rotate school principals speaks volumes about this insular body. The fact that the Board waited until the wee hours when most of the public attendees had departed to censure her for reporting their actions is yet another indication of their desire to cloak themselves in secrecy and subterfuge. This school board will come before voters in November seeking a 150-million-dollar bond, proffering assurances of necessity, fidelity and transparency, despite a track record to the contrary. Two former school board members are poised to run for city council next year. It is high time residents abandon the rose-colored glasses which obscure the view of the enormous power-grab monopoly being foisted on this town. We need to stand in unity and show our support for brave souls like Christine Cronin-Hurst, lest there be no one left to defy the oligarchy when it seeks to dominate us all.
Stephanie Robins
Manhattan Beach
Harbor offramp
Dear ER:
As of the last Harbor Commission meeting, we now see the CenterCal Harborfront mall has grown so over bloated that it forces the required boat ramp to Mole B. That plan eliminates 73 parking spaces for current boaters, outrigger canoeists, and Moonstone Park users. Parking that gets filled to capacity on summer weekends. It eliminates 26 existing commercial and recreational boat slips. And it shrinks the public parkland and open space shared with the Outrigger canoe club. Instead, we get a single lane boat ramp that can only serve 20 boaters at a time, the bare minimum by state design guidelines. And no parking for boating guests. Staff’s justification: Marina Del Rey only uses an average of 20 spaces per day. But they were forced to admit, they ignored peak weekend and summer traffic. But worse, this is a dangerous location at one of the narrowest and busiest fairways in the harbor behind a Galveston wall that creates a huge blindspot.
This is a harbor. Harbor uses should come first, by zoning and state law. We should design a first class boat ramp. Only then should we add in shopping, restaurants, and other non-harbor uses. This is a bad and risky plan. Balance it or reject it. We can revitalize without supersizing.
Jim Light
Redondo Beach
Bring back the pier
Dear ER:
It’s no secret that the Redondo Beach pier falls short of what it could be. There are some great food and drink establishments, but people don’t hang around after dinner or walk around at night because it is, quite frankly, scary. The Waterfront project will be bringing the pier back to life, all the while maintaining and improving the aspects of the pier that we love today. The project will improve recreation with the new bike path, there will be easier on-site drop offs for paddle boarders and it will open up Seaside Lagoon year round. Access to the coastline will be improved for those that want to simply enjoy the views with the new boardwalk that will stretch from one end of the waterfront to the other. And many of the current tenants that we all love will be involved in the project, such as Kincaids and Polly’s. CenterCal has done a great job of understanding what Redondo residents want at the waterfront without taking away from its heritage, and most importantly it will create a place for everybody of different ages and interests to enjoy.
Claudine Garcia
Redondo Beach
See or sea art
Dear ER:
At the June 13 Harbor Commission meeting, Jon Paul Wardy, the Vice President of CenterCal
indicated that there were several locations throughout the project to view public art. Wardy emphasized that public art brings in people to a location. I prefer to see nature made-art such as the changing colors of the sky, the blues of the ocean, the spray of white waves on the breakwater, swaying palm trees, the cliffs of Palos Verdes, a peek of Catalina Island, sea gulls and pelicans flying. If I wanted to see public art I could go to a museum. I come to the sea to “Sea Nature.” I come to embrace the openness, the vastness of the sky touching the vast deep blue sea. The only view I need to sea is nature made.
Laura Zahn
Redondo Beach
Northern oversight
Dear ER:
Congratulations to Hermosa Beach residents for passing the $59 million general obligation bond to rebuild North School and renovate Valley and View Schools. Failure of Hermosa’s two previous bonds brings up questions about the school district’s ability to handle the $59 million properly. Hermosa Beach should look north to Manhattan Beach and learn from their experience with Measure BB, the $67 million bond to renovate Mira Costa High School. An oversight committee of 15 members was set up to make sure that the funds were properly spent. The renovation of Mira Costa High School came in on time and within the budget. When the oversight committee is set-up for Measure S, confidence in the Hermosa Beach School District will be restored.
Robert Bush
Manhattan Beach
Bond voyage
Dear ER:
Congratulations to the Hermosa Beach school board, district employees and residents for passing school bond Measure S. My wife, a superintendent of schools, recently passed her own school bond so I appreciate the arduous work involved for a bond’s successful passage. All may not have agreed on how and when to update Hermosa’s schools. However, in the end, all will be very proud of what they will have accomplished with rebuilding and upgrades to safety.
Furthermore, congratulations to Redondo Beach, as well, for passing Measure K, allowing an assisted living center on a school site to generate revenue for an exemplary school district. Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach did the right thing at the right time for its children and communities. Perhaps, the salient words of Dr. Martin L. King are apropos: “The time is always right to do the right thing.”
Tom Kaminski
Redondo Beach
Legado Branded
Dear ER:
The Legado saga came to a conclusion last week with a final vote from the Redondo Beach City Council (“Redondo Beach City Council shrinks, passes Legado project,” ER June 16, 2016). After countless hours spent by the residents of Redondo Beach, our concerns were validated by the Council’s 3-2 vote in favor of a 115 apartment unit design at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Palos Verdes Drive. Save the Riviera was geared up for a full lawsuit. Our attorney Frank Angel was on hand. To listen to city staff argue for this project, dismissing every issue brought up by residents, was a learning experience and painful to listen to. No wonder there are so many problems in Redondo Beach. Luckily, we have Councilman Bill Brand to lead the charge on change. Once Legado was finally exposed, Councilman Steve Sammarco and Councilman Christian Horvath jumped on board. A true win would have been a much lower apartment number, with a great hotel. This could have happened if Councilman Jeff Ginsburg actually understood his district. Councilwoman Laura Emdee? The CEO of Legado waved goodbye to her on his way out. Mayor Steve Aspel, the one most responsible for this mess, by not voting for a General Plan update in 2009, will now have to wallow in a city fraught with voters who no longer believe his stories. The jig is up.
Nils Nehrenheim
Redondo Beach
Local pride
Dear ER:
So it was Local 11 that Saved The Riviera (“Redondo Beach City Council shrinks, passes Legado project,” ER June 16, 2016)? No, it was the many local residents who spent untold hours educating their elected officials, forming partnerships with many other groups, community outreach meetings and community rally’s to Save The Riviera. Not a single mention in Easy Reader of the many hundreds of residents who commented on this project. Three Council members deserve huge accolades for taking the time to truly understand the concerns of the Residents: District 2 Councilman Bill Brand, District 3 Councilman Christian Horvath and District 4 Councilman Stephen Sammarco. In the end it was clear. The requests made by the developer were not in keeping with the zoning and out of character of the community.
Thanks to Local 11 for the endorsement, kudos to attorney Frank Angel, for representing our group!
Nils Nehrenheim ·
ER Facebook comment
Something’s happening here
Dear ER:
Kudos to Save The Riviera Group for all their excellent work. (“Redondo Beach City Council shrinks, passes Legado project,” ER June 16, 2016). Redondo Developer Legado will get to build in a city where “nothing ever gets built” and residents will get a much better project by being involved and doing the people’s business of holding developers accountable for what they build.
Bruce Szeles
Redondo Beach
Movie night
Dear ER:
As a 30-year Redondo Beach resident I have been writing and speaking out about the terrible idea of putting a theater in King Harbor. So I am happy to see that some Harbor Commissioners seem to get it. With 80-inch screens, NetFlix, DVRs, etc., fewer Americans will see movies in theaters. That’s why at least 10 theater complexes have closed here in the past two decades and the AMC Theaters at the Galleria are the only ones left in the 3 Beach Cities. A few years ago the City of Redondo Beach fired then-City Manager Bill Kirchoff. Because of his ridiculous contract. He took over $1 million of city money with him. But by the time that happened the fools on the city council who voted for that contract were long gone. There was no one left to blame but us, because “the fault lies not in our stars Horatio, but in ourselves.” When the theater is a complete failure Mayor Steve Aspel and Harbor Commission Chair Lenore Bloss will be long gone. Let’s save the city and ourselves from those too ignorant to do it themselves.
Ross Yosnow
Redondo Beach
