May 6, 2010
Real teacher appreciation
Dear ER:
I just received a flyer from my daughter’s Redondo Beach elementary school with suggestions on the gift cards that each and every teacher (as well as administrator) would like to have for “Staff Appreciation” week — May 24 through May 28. I would imagine many other schools in the RBUSD might be doing the same thing. I think showing appreciation for your teachers and administration in the form of gift cards or gifts is absolutely wonderful for the terrific jobs they do. But I think asking for gift cards is incredibly misguided when there are 24 teachers (including my daughter’s teacher) in K-3 alone who are possibly heading to the unemployment line without more money being found in the budget. Where is the leadership from RBTA directing the teachers to ask for “appreciation” by donating to the Redondo Beach Education Foundation? Imagine if 8,000 students and their families donated $30 to RBEF instead giving gift cards. That would total to $240,000 to help offset the General Fund and possibly save teachers jobs. RBEF had a 13 percent response rate from parents. It is hard to get the message across to parents that times are dire when RBTA and the teachers are not actively educating parents on the situation and then sending out messages to give gift cards instead of RBEF in their teacher’s name. My donation will be going on behalf of Emily Butler, a terrific teacher who might be out of a job. I hope RBTA directs teachers appropriately on this “appreciation” issue.
Doug Christensen
Redondo Beach
We’re not in Florida
Dear ER:
I say, can the 6-man and the Johnnie-come-latelies and alcoholic pencil-necked geeks it has come to attract (“From six man to six pack,” ER April 29, 2010). It has nothing to do with the fine sport of beach volleyball anymore. Has to go…can’t police it, can’t manage it, can’t control it…has to go. We want our beach back. This isn’t Ft. Lauderdale at spring break. Stay at home and on your Internet Facebook you pathetic little dweebs.
Mike, lifelong resident
Website comment
Six-man cover-up
Dear ER:
They are also talking of banning costumes (“From six man to six pack,” ER April 29, 2010). Really? The costumes? Costumes are not the problem. The six-man is about the level of play. Where else can your friends compete against Olympic, college and professional athletes dressed in wigs, kilts, bridal veils etc.? The best part of the six-man weekend is feeling the enthusiastic, anticipatory climate of players dressed in their silly, colorful outfits early Saturday morning; knowing that soon some incredible volleyball will be played by these “characters”. Outlawing humorous dress is not the answer. We all know the real problem is the influx of day trippers and weekend visitors using the tournament as only a party. The problem isn’t wearing a wrestling outfit instead of board shorts, (or even the players and their friends enjoying a discrete beverage between games).
El Porto Girl
Website comment
Head in the sand
Dear ER:
Don’t demonize the LA regional water board or the state (“City launches campaign to save lagoon,” ER April 29, 2010). The city has known about these regulations for many years and has chosen not to act. This could have been solved in 2002
Pete the Drum Scientist
Website comment
Put up a swimming pool
Dear ER:
Knowing about the regulations and accommodating them are two different issues (“City launches campaign to save lagoon,” ER April 29, 2010). The Lagoon is (and always has been) an open system, utilizing ocean water circulated and discharged at a rate of 200,000 gallons per hour into a sand bottom lagoon, which allows for a safe environment for children to swim and play. The only real solution to meet current standards would be a multi-million dollar, hard bottom, closed system paid for by the taxpayers of Redondo Beach. That type of system is usually referred to as a swimming pool, not an ocean lagoon.
Alex Bannerman
Website comment
Spike the lagoon
Dear ER:
Turn off the water pumps (“City launches campaign to save lagoon,” ER April 29, 2010). Drain it. Fill it with beach sand and turn it into a world class beach volleyball facility.
Paul Moses
Website comment
Series closer
Dear ER:
On May 12, the Manhattan planning commission will conduct the fourth hearing on Shade Hotel’s application for later bar hours, an action intertwined with alcohol-fueled noise disturbances in the residential neighborhood. Staff will not submit a resolution, which guarantees a fifth hearing, as well as a likely appeal to the city council. This equates to residents having won the first three in a seven-game series.
The city’s inability to get closure on this matter, after a year of public hearings, points to their conflict of being Metlox property owner, Shade’s landlord, and enforcer of the use permit.
This conflict arose years ago, at a 2005 hearing, when staff and Shade convinced planning commissioners, that for room mini-bars, the ABC required a Type 47 license, which permits alcohol service to the general public, the root-cause of noise disturbances. Actually, as staff and Shade knew, the ABC has a Type 70 license that permits mini-bars, while restricting alcohol service to guests and invitees, as the city had originally intended.
At the same 2005 hearing, staff testified that the open, south-side terrace would not serve alcohol. Consequently, the commissioners did not consider the terrace as an outdoor extension of the Zinc bar, a major source of Shade noise. A minute before commissioners voted, staff slipped in a change enabling terrace alcohol service.
The neighborhood has used the past year to formulate use-permit revisions that will redress these wrongs. With staff sidelined, perhaps residents and planning commissioners can put this game away.
Don McPherson
Manhattan Beach
Pier feeding frenzy
Dear ER:
The Sharkeez chain is about to acquire a second location on Hermosa’s Pier Plaza – the Il Boccaccio restaurant site. Il Boccaccio had permission to serve alcohol until 1:30 a.m. — but rarely did so. When Sharkeez applied to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to transfer the Il Boccaccio liquor license to themselves, Hermosa Beach Police Chief Greg Savelli wrote to the ABC and asked that the hours be rolled back to midnight.
When the ABC attempted to impose the shorter hours requested by the chief, the Sharkeez owners objected and, after a hearing, an administrative law judge decided, on a technicality, that the hours could not be rolled back. The City can appeal that decision, but any appeal must be authorized by the city council and the deadline for it to do so would be the council meeting of May 11.
With the 1:30 a.m. closing hours, Sharkeez’ additional location likely will be another source of late-night trouble for the City, which already spends millions more on the downtown than it receives in taxes. Hermosans who do not want more bars downtown should contact the city council and ask them to appeal the decision. Council contact info is available on the City’s website www.hermosabch.org. Also, the citizen-sponsored website www.vivahermosa.com has council phone numbers plus copies of the licenses and legal briefs related to the pending license transfer.
Jim Lissner
Hermosa Beach
Hermosa should follow El Segundo
Dear ER:
Three weeks ago, the voters of El Segundo, arguably the most conservative city in the South Bay, voted to increase their business license tax. The measure received over two-thirds of the vote. At the same time, the Hermosa Beach City Council has refused to place a measure to raise its business license tax on the ballot, arguing that it’s bad for business. What the Council fails to understand is that the business license tax is a way for cities to receive remuneration for services rendered to businesses that pay no taxes to the city. Moreover, placing such a measure on the ballot allows the voters to decide whether our city should raise its business license tax. In fact, every member of the City Council could oppose the tax, but it should allow the voters to decide. It seems likely that voters would pass such a tax increase given the results in El Segundo. It’s time that Hermosa Beach City Council support democracy and let the voters decide about a business license tax increase.
Fred Huebscher
Hermosa Beach
Stormy runoff
Dear ER:
Finally, at least an attempt to stop some of the nasty problems many people ignore (“Protecting the sea from underground,” ER April 29, 2010). Two friends of mine got strep throat on the same day last year. Both had surfed the day after it rained, but were five blocks apart. It’s pretty archaic that we haven’t even addressed the sewage runoff on a mass scale.
James
Website comment
Stormy climate measure
Dear ER:
As if California didn’t have enough problems, we now have a Texas-based oil company – Valero gas — hijacking our broken initiatives process in an attempt to rollback our state’s landmark climate change bill. AB 32 was passed with support from Democrats in the legislature and was signed proudly by our Republican governor. It makes California – the planet’s 12th biggest emitter of CO2 – number one in the world for legislated reductions of greenhouse gases.
Valero is the biggest contributor — $500,000 already — to a deceptive initiative effort to block implementation of AB 32. Until Valero backs down, Californians who care about stopping climate change and building a new green economy should boycott Valero gas. There are over 800 Valero stations in California. Let’s tell the Texas oil barons: Don’t mess with California.
Bobi Burke
Redondo Beach