2010 was a year of turning points in Redondo Beach.
Politically, the nine-year battle over the future of the harbor finally culminated in a ballot-box battle. Measure G, an attempt to pick up the pieces of the failed Heart of the City plan and revitalize the city’s ailing harbor area, handily prevailed at the polls in November in the face of heated opposition from the “slow growth” group Building a Better Redondo.
“This is an enormous watershed moment,” said Councilman Steve Diels. “Not only a watershed moment, a waterfront moment….The future of Redondo Beach was on the line. The negativity just could not win.”
Physically, school district and city infrastructure received upgrades that were long in the making. Nowhere was this more dramatic than at Redondo Union High School, the century-old, 105-acre campus that saw its crumbling eastern half utterly rebuilt with the construction of a state-of-the-art aquatics center, a bright and shining new Sea Hawk Bowl, and a sleek new Student Services building complete with a triumphant new address, 1 Sea Hawk Drive.
“We wanted to build facilities that were more cutting edge and better than anything around,” said school board president Drew Gamet at the unveiling ceremony in November. “And now you are sitting in the middle of it.”
The city had three significant unveilings of its own – a new North Branch library, beginning of an aesthetic overhaul of the Esplanade, and the restoration of the George Freeth bust on the pier.
“This is the kick-start,” said Councilman Pat Aust at the Freeth unveiling. “Now we are going to make things better – not bigger, better.”
Police also hoped that they’d reached a turning point in attempting to curtail what one councilman called the city’s “dirty little secret” – prostitution occurring at many of the city’s 25 massage parlors. A series of stings conducted by undercover officers was bolstered by a moratorium passed by the City Council in December temporarily banning any new such businesses.
“The illegal activities have really created a bad perception for all legitimate operators that are out there,” said Mayor Mike Gin. “I think this is something we need to get our arms around.”
The year also included an extremely personal turning point, as Councilman Steve Aspel very publically – and with characteristic bawdy humor– waged a battle with colon cancer. By year’s end, he was most decidedly winning, earning a clean bill of health and right to belly up to his favorite bar, H.T. Grill, and toast a truly happy new year.
A sense of hope pervaded even in local waters. A once nearly extinct species, the blue whales, arrived in large numbers just outside King Harbor and attracted a frenzy of local and national attention.
“It’s definitely a thrilling South Bay story, no doubt about it,” said Gene “Tarzan” Smith, a local stand-up paddler who approached the whales so closely his friends started calling him the whale whisperer. “We are blessed that is going on here. It’s pretty cool.”
Some Redondo Beach residents were also deeply involved in exporting hope to a land in dire need. Members of the King’s Harbor Church community conducted a series of missions to Haiti following last January’s devastating earthquake. It was the fulfillment of a dream a nine-year-old girl named Ariana Manassero had more than eight years ago when her interest in Haitian orphans led her entire family to move to Haiti and open up an orphanage. That orphanage, Maison de Lumiere, became one of the few rays of hope in Haiti when it was transformed into a makeshift hospital staffed, in part, by the orphans. The hospital saved hundreds of lives in the days following the quake.
“What I’ve learned is that in spite of the insanity of it all, little miracles are everywhere,” said Ariana’s mother, Susette Manassero. “We may have seen over 500 people the first four days at our makeshift triage center, and not one perished.”
Redondo Beach voters received a curious document in the mail in early October. It was a 176 page voter pamphlet issued by the city, as required by a local law requiring a public votes on major zoning changes. It included maps, graphs, traffic studies, and a six uses of the word “whereas” on page, alone.
City leaders believed that the future of their struggling harbor area was contained in the 176-pages of ballot analysis that purported to describe Measure G. And for the first time in a decade, a majority of residents apparently agreed. The measure was approved by a 52 to 48 percent margin.
The vote ended a legal and political quagmire that dated back to 2002, when the city enacted the Heart of the City development plan, intended to restored its long lost seaside downtown district. That plan called for as many a 2,998 residential units on the AES power plant site, however, leading to a citizen’s revolt that was ongoing for the rest of the decade, including a series of referendum movements and, most recently, a successful lawsuit by the “slow growth” group Building a Better Redondo that forced November’s public vote on harbor zoning.
BBR Chair Jim Light argued that the city’s proposed harbor zoning would result in the malls, condos, and traffic gridlock near the waterfront. He was joined by former BBR activist and current City Councilman Bill Brand, who found himself in the somewhat awkward position of advocating a lawsuit against the very city he represented. Brand was steadfast in his contention, however, that voters should decide what happens in the harbor.
“It’s a great thing, actually,” Brand said. “The residents are finally deciding what to allow on our waterfront, and not a few councilmen in the middle of the night….The residents shouldn’t throw the entire harbor under the bus because a few councilmen want to allow large scale development down there. They should stand up.”
Former councilman Chris Cagle led the fight in support of Measure G. Cagle was also a former activist. He led the original referendum movement against the Heart of the City, which began with a letter to the editor and snowballed into a petition movement that gathered 10,000 signatures in a matter of weeks. He argued that Measure G represented a “negotiated victory” a decade in the making that included open space requirements, no residential zoning in the harbor, and vastly scaled back commercial zoning.
“It represents a very reasonable and fair compromise from where we were,” Cagle said.
It was an angry fight. Councilman Aspel at one point said BBR supporters were more toxic than his cancer. Jess Money, an activist supporting BBR, publically suggested that it was unfortunate that Cagle had not succumbed in his own battle with cancer.
But in the end, when Measure G prevailed, both sides agreed on at least one thing.
“The people have spoken!” said Cagle.
“The people have spoken,” Brand also said.
Mike Zislis, whose plans to build a boutique “Shade Hotel” in the harbor could finally move forward after the measure’s passage, suggested that something beyond a vote might be needed to assure future success in the harbor.
“I’m bringing a Shinto priest to bless the land, because I think it’s cursed,” Zislis said. “I mean, it must be. We are going to do whatever it takes to get this place going.”
Building a better Redondo
Some development that unequivocally occurred this year had nothing to do with current politics. Both the city and the school district very actively built a better Redondo Beach.
The school district turned the corner in its remarkable physical transformation, resulting from the $145 million Measure C school bond passed by voters in 2008. New synthetic playing fields and school fronts changed campuses and even brightened neighborhoods throughout the city. But nowhere was the change as drastic and as symbolic as the $95 million in construction at Redondo Union High School. At the November unveiling of a large portion of that bond work, City Councilman Matt Kilroy spoke in admiration of the district’s progress and what it meant for the entire community.
“It is such a jewel to the crown in our community of Redondo Beach….It is something that will contribute to the community, not just the schools, for decades to come,” Kilroy said.
The city meanwhile completed a symbolic transformation that it hopes represents the beginning of in a larger revitalization of the pier. It replaced the bust of pioneering waterman George Freeth, which was stolen by thieves two years ago. It also began a $2.9 million dollar makeover of its signature street, the Esplanade, and unveiled a beautiful new North Branch Library that is the city’s first environmentally “green” certified building.
The library was nine years in the making and was built despite several setbacks, including the economic downturn and the disappearance of state library funding. It resulted from a public-private partnership in which both the city and the library foundation remained steadfastly committed and raised the $4 million needed for the 12,600 sq. ft. library.
“This is revitalization,” Councilman Steve Diels said. “This is what happens when a community comes together.”
More than massage
Police conducted an aggressive campaign to confront the problem of prostitution that they believe has plagued local massage parlors and may involve human trafficking.
A police operation in October arrested five women working in massage parlors for suspicion of prostitution. Four massage parlors lost their business licenses for conducting lewd activity, while four more cases are pending. Since 2006, 17 women have been arrested at local massage parlors on suspicion of prostitution.
“At least for 20 years, it has been a recurring issue,” said Redondo Police Chief Joe Leonardi said. “Every time we address the issue with these type operations, it may calm down for a short period of time. But then they come back, and we get more complaints from residents.”
Pastor Chris Cannon urged the city to continue to take aggressive actions. He suggested the arrests represent a tip of the iceberg.
“I think it says two things,” Cannon said. “I think it says that Redondo Beach has the same problem that everyone else has…And it says we are ignorant of the problem. When you aren’t looking, you don’t see it. But if you begin to look for massage parlors in the strip malls, you see these places where the blinds are closed and there is access from the back. And then you begin to see they are everywhere. There are more of them than there are Starbucks and liquor stores. They are hidden in plain sight.”
In December, the city did take more action, passing a moratorium against new massage parlors while it devises a larger strategy to combat the problem of prostitution.
Aspel’s battle
Councilman Steve Aspel is known for his blunt speech on the council dais. But he still managed to shock people with his public disclosure of a very private problem after he was diagnosed with colon cancer in February. What was shocking wasn’t even the cancer itself, but the humor with which he handled it.
Aspel wasn’t just being glib. His tumor had been discovered after his family doctor had to virtually force him to go in for checkup. “Here’s the truth: the doctor had to blackmail me into getting scoped,” he said. “I went down for a refill for my recreational blue pills….For the want of sex, I get my life saved. Even if I don’t, I get to go out like a stud!”
Aspel shared his story because he wanted other men – naturally reluctant to undergo colonoscopies – to understand the importance of catching cancer as early as possible. And as he shared his ongoing battles with cancer, it wasn’t all fun and games. He underwent fairly major surgery and had to wear a colonoscopy bag for several months. His fellow councilmen marveled as he showed up at the council dais only 10 days after getting out of the hospital.
“It’s not because of any glory; it’s just the fact that he signed up to do a job and he’s going to make sure he does it,” said Councilman Pat Aust. “He shows up when the chips are down.”
Aspel was declared cancer-free in November. More than relief, he expressed gratitude for the support of his wife, Pam, and his two daughters. “I am rebooted,” he said. “And re-butted.” ER
