Parking meter economics
Dear ER:
I am concerned about the increases being proposed for parking meter rates in downtown Hermosa, an issue that, on the surface, may seem like a minor adjustment, but reflects deeper challenges we’re facing as a community.
As small businesses in Hermosa continue to navigate incredibly tough economic conditions, we’re now witnessing even national giants like Starbucks closing their doors in Hermosa Beach. In this context, raising the cost of parking, what some might call the “low-hanging fruit” of municipal revenue, feels more like a short-term fix than a long-term strategy.
Instead of relying on incremental fees and taxes, why aren’t we asking the more essential question…how can we invite investment and innovation into our downtown?
What if, rather than discouraging activity with higher costs, we focused on lowering the barriers that prevent entrepreneurs and investors from helping Hermosa Beach thrive?
Consider the old Becker Surf building, which has sat vacant for nearly three years. That space could be a cornerstone of downtown vitality, yet it remains untouched. Why? and how many similar opportunities are we missing?
I believe Hermosa Beach is fortunate to have a city manager with the heart, mind, and skillset to lead us toward a vibrant, modern future. But even the best leadership needs room to breathe and space to dream. And that’s where we, as a city, must confront a harder truth: Are we holding ourselves back by clinging to the political divisions of the past?
We as a community must ask ourselves what comes first: politics or Hermosa? Do we want to preserve old fault lines, or do we want to shape a bold, inclusive vision for our city’s future?
I hope we can choose collaboration over conflict, vision over stagnation, and community over partisanship.
Ed Hart
Hermosa Beach
Prop 50 a presidential prop
Dear ER:
After years of squabbling over political representation, the winning party gets to draw the maps and dictate [Gerrymander] which districts belong to which party. It is a system that fails to represent the citizens of either party. Politicians aren’t capable of self-governing, in my opinion.
In 2008, Proposition 11 created the Voter’s First Act, which led to creating a Redistricting Commission. This Commission is now part of the California Constitution. Even the Governor can’t interfere, [until recently that is].
A new bill, AB604, that will “suspend” the Citizens Redistricting Commission until 2031, so that Governor Gavin Newsom can redraw the districts in his favor. His fight with Governor Abbot of Texas is about looking Presidential.
Governor Newsom is running for President. This bill alone will cost taxpayers well over $250 million. This state already has a $35 billion deficit and he’s still pursuing the train to “no-where” for another $20 billion!
Our next Governor will face huge problems that we will have to pay for somehow.
Is this the next President of the United States? Please vote no on Proposition 50 in November.
Gary Brown
Hermosa Beach
Park branding
Dear ER:
The late Bill Brand dedicated his life to protecting open space, preserving our coast, and ensuring that Redondo Beach remains a community of which we can all be proud. As one of the founders of the South Bay Parkland Conservancy, he championed efforts to transform land into public parks and gathering spaces. Through his own infectious enthusiasm, hundreds of residents joined him in these labors of love.
In 2010, Brand began talks with Edison to turn their land under the power lines off Herondo Avenue into a park. That dream is finally becoming a reality. This location is more than just open space — it’s where Mayor Brand made the historic 2023 announcement that the AES power plant was finally being shuttered. It was his final act of public service, and where his fight against overdevelopment in Redondo Beach began back in 2003.
Now, we have the opportunity to honor his vision, his leadership and his unparalleled service to our community by naming this new park, Bill Brand Park.
Please e-mail the Redondo Beach City Council and Mayor Jim Light to ask them to dedicate this new park in Bill’s name. It’s a simple, but powerful way to recognize the lasting impact he had on our city.
Wayne Craig
President, Rescue Our Waterfront
Redondo Beach
Rewriting history
Dear ER:
If Bill Brand’s vision for the AES site never materialized, why should taxpayers pay for two parks in his name? If Brand’s decades-long promise to re-wild the AES site never came to fruition, why should taxpayers now be asked to celebrate him with not one, but two parks in his name? The new “nature park” near Herondo and Pacific Coast Highway is leased from SoCal Edison at a cost of nearly $1 million for only five years — at the very moment Redondo Beach is facing a $3.5 million budget shortfall. That’s not legacy-building, it’s fiscal extravagance. Meanwhile, the AES site itself remains fenced off. Naming multiple parks after a failed vision risks rewriting history rather than honoring genuine achievement.
Pat Healey
Redondo Beach
Adolescents’ space
Dear ER:
Two organizations in the Beach Cities are quietly transforming the way our community supports young people: Resin Art Studio in Hermosa Beach and allcove Beach Cities in Redondo Beach. They work in partnership to offer innovative programs for youth, empowering them not just to participate, but to step into leadership as creators and collaborators.
Resin is home to Indivisible Arts, a nonprofit that aims to provide students with tools and an outlook to weather life’s challenges in a healthy way by teaching fundamental wisdom tools and fostering emotional intelligence and creative expression through a robust art program, where staff mentor teens and the teens, in turn, mentor younger students. Their programs go beyond art instruction—giving young people opportunities to build confidence, collaborate creatively, and contribute meaningfully to their community.
allcove Beach Cities, in Redondo Beach, supports young people ages 12 to 25 by providing mental and physical health services, substance use guidance, peer and family support, education and career coaching, and safe spaces for social connection and creative expression. Through counseling, support groups, and engaging community events, allcove helps youth build the skills and resilience to navigate life’s challenges.
On a recent Saturday, I had the pleasure of stopping by Covefest at allcove, where young people gathered for live music, art, games, and food. Staff from Resin were also present, facilitating the event and providing a space for young people to showcase their many creative endeavors—from artwork and fashion design to original music. It was a vibrant scene of youth supporting one another in a safe and welcoming environment.
Events at Resin are equally inspiring. At a recent art show, professional artists displayed their work while youths as young as 12 shared original music alongside older teens and adults. These multigenerational performances highlight the value of giving youth platforms to shine.
At a time when rates of anxiety, depression, and substance use challenges are rising among young people, these organizations offer much-needed alternatives. They provide spaces that are engaging, safe, and deeply affirming—places where young people are recognized as valuable contributors to the cultural fabric of the community.
We often invest in programs for young children, yet adolescents also need spaces to take risks, explore creativity, and find belonging. Resin and allcove are filling that gap in remarkable ways.
They are true local gems. If you have the chance to visit, attend an event, or support their efforts, you will find not only the incredible creativity of our youth, but also the profound impact that comes from giving them space to be seen, heard, and celebrated.
Michelle Charfen, MD
Redondo Beach
This old plant…
Dear ER:
The simple truth is that AES Power Plant owner Leo Pustilnikov is bankrupt (“AES Power plant site owner Pustilnikov talks of Redondo Beach,” ER September 25, 2025). He has no money or real assets and his group of investors are bottom feeders, with little money. His bankruptcy filing is a delaying tactic to try to get relief from mortgage defaults. It will fail. The lenders will get the property in the end and hopefully the city can buy it from them, via a bond issuance. Pustilnikove is a clear case of a man with “champagne tastes and lemonade money.” A park for all the people and a museum or exhibition hall for the old plant would be best.
Zac Cohen
ERNews comment
…a Superfund site?
Dear ER:
I live a short distance from the old Redondo Beach power plant (“AES Power plant site owner Pustilnikov talks of Redondo Beach,” ER September 25, 2025). The city is grateful that it was finally decommissioned, but alas, the smokestacks will likely stay up until this building issue is resolved by the courts. The density owner Leo Pustilnikov is requesting (should he be found to actually have a say in the matter) is a non-starter, not only for most Redondo residents, but for neighboring Hermosa Beach as well. The traffic congestion would be a nightmare.
Another topic that is rarely mentioned is that there are some very old settling ponds on that property. It could be a Superfund clean-up for all we know.
Agustin Garnie
Redondo Beach
Russian real estate
Dear ER:
I am a complete outsider to this issue. However, based on my observations over the years, it appears AES power plant owner Leo Pustilnikov is urging the bankruptcy (“AES Power plant site owner Pustilnikov talks of Redondo Beach,” ER September 25, 2025). Trustee to recognize that a legal battle with the City of Redondo over the builder’s remedy is central to any bankruptcy discharge. In effect, he has placed Redondo in a position where it must either allow multi-unit development or buy him out. Either path could take years to resolve in court. The public will only grasp the full scope of this story if a news reporter connects all the pieces. The citizens of Redondo Beach deserve a clear answer on the status of this situation, especially after fighting so hard to see those smokestacks finally come down.
Stewart Fournier
Manhattan Beach
Pat Healy- The lease for the new park is not $1M. That is about the cost for the grading, plants, drainage, irrigation, and DG paths. That cost is hardly exorbitant. The cost of replacing a playground on just half an acre costs over $1.5M.
The new 2.5 acre park was also one of Brand’s visions that started in 2004. It takes persistence for these good things to happen. This is the first sizeable park added in decades. And certainly a landscaped park is far,far better than the ugly weeds and dirt it’s been since power plant was first built in 1948.
And no one can say whether Brand’ vision of a large park at the AES site will happen or not. That is tied up in bankruptcy court right now. One thing at the very least is that there is a documented active wetlands on the site.Audubon Society has documented over 100 species of birds using it. So at the very least the wetlands will be restored.
Referring to the Prop 50 a presidential prop comments by Gary Brown:
While concerns about gerrymandering and fiscal responsibility are valid topics for discussion, the characterization of AB604 and Proposition 50 appears to conflate multiple issues and lacks important context.
Independent Redistricting – California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission was created to remove partisan influence from district mapping. Proposition 11 and subsequent reforms were designed to ensure fair representation, not to give governors unchecked power. Suspending the commission would actually reduce transparency and accountability, which could worsen political manipulation rather than prevent it.
AB604 Purpose – The bill cited is primarily aimed at adjusting timelines and procedures for future redistricting. Its passage is not a personal power grab for Governor Newsom; decisions about district lines remain constrained by law and public input. Claiming that the governor will redraw districts purely for political gain is speculative and not supported by the legislative language itself.
Cost Concerns – While redistricting and infrastructure projects carry costs, the figures cited—$250 million for redistricting and $20 billion for the train—are exaggerated without context. Infrastructure investment can provide long-term economic benefits, and redistricting costs are a fraction of the state budget.
Political Motivations – Linking a single state bill to national presidential ambitions is conjecture. Policy decisions are complex and involve multiple stakeholders, not just one individual’s political trajectory.
Voter Decision – Proposition 50 should be evaluated on its merits—whether it preserves independent redistricting and fair representation—not based on assumptions about the governor’s ambitions or unrelated budget items. Protecting nonpartisan mapping helps ensure that California voters, not politicians, determine representation. READ THE FULL STORY. KNOW THE DETAILS AND MAKE AN INFORMED CHOICE ON PROP 50!
When a city is in a $3.5 million budget shortfall, is it ethical to spend nearly a million dollars on land the public doesn’t even own?
If taxpayers fund grading, irrigation, and landscaping on leased land, what happens when the lease expires — do we walk away with nothing to show for it? Should a park built on borrowed ground be celebrated as legacy, or questioned as a “legacy on loan”?
Why has the City never disclosed the full lease terms with SoCal Edison, and how can residents judge whether this is wise stewardship without transparency?
And while we’re talking about legacy — the only reason the AES power plant still sits on our coast is because Bill Brand and Jim Light turned it into a political tool. For years, voters were told the site would be re-wilded into a park, but instead it’s been kept fenced off, tied up in lawsuits and bankruptcies that served as fundraising fuel more than community benefit.
So the questions practically ask themselves:
• If the real goal was removing the smokestacks, why wasn’t that achieved after decades of “activism”?
• Did constant opposition to redevelopment proposals protect the public, or preserve the plant as a political symbol?
• Who actually benefited from keeping this fight alive: the residents of Redondo Beach, or the politicians who built their careers on it?
Until we get clear, honest answers, residents are left paying for parks and promises while the AES site — the heart of this issue — remains nothing more than a backdrop for political branding.
Pat Healy –
– The lease for the 5 acres under the powerlines west of PCH is $3020.54 a year (that’s $604.10 per acre per year). It was publicly approved at the City Council meeting on 5/17/2022. It was approved unanimously. This was all approved in a public meeting and it is publicly available online on the City website. So this was fully disclosed and conducted with full transparency and approved in a public meeting by Councilmembers Nehrenheim, Loewenstein, Horvath, Emdee, and Obagi. You seem to imply that something was nefarious, but the public record shows otherwise.
– The money spent on the park is not from the General Fund which has the shortfall. It is from funds reserved for parks. It is seems odd that you did not object to the expenditures on the North Redondo bike path extension which is on property leased from SCE(as is the whole bike path under the power lines in North Redondo). And the project funding was approved this year as well. In addition to Redondo many other cities lease SCE Right of Way property for public parkland and open space including El Segundo and Torrance. These parks and our North Redondo bikepath have been leased for many years.
– The only path to a power plant removal before December 31, 2023 would have been a vote for Measure A, drafted by Bill Brand and myself. It qualified for the ballot but was narrowly defeated when AES spent over $600K to oppose it. They threatened power outages and lawsuits. The 2002 failed Heart of the City zoning allowed for a new smaller power plant on the AES property. After Measure A, AES tried to get us to pass a mixed use zoning plan in Measure B. It failed. But the provisions of Measure B allowed the current power plant to run as long as AES could get a contract – which turned out to be December 31, 2023. So it was the defeat of Measure A that allowed the power plant to run until December 31, 2023.
– The current bankruptcy has nothing to do with the City. AES sold the property to Pustilnikov then foreclosed on him when he failed to meet payment terms. The day before the property auction, Pustilnikov filed bankruptcy leaving the property in limbo.
– Our efforts to protect the harbor area have been successful. The harbor is going through revitalization without over development. Our efforts to shut down the power plant were successful ultimately. AES Redondo is the only one of the remaining once through cooling plants that has shut down. Redondo residents no longer suffer the pollution from the least efficient and most polluting of the remaining once through cooling power plants. And billions of marine life larvae are saved each year. AES Redondo was our largest point source of air pollution in Redondo. And with westerly winds, marine layers, and the uphill topography leading eastward, those pollutants were directly impinging on residential neighborhoods, medical offices, and schools.
So there are your answers Pat. No political branding. Just the facts. All a matter of public record. And soon we will enjoy our first sizable park addition in decades.