Building BeachLife
CORRECTION: In the story “Building BeachLife” (Easy Reader, May 2, 2024), the company that built the BeachLife stages was misidentified. Stage Techs of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., constructed the two main stages, High Tide and Low Tide. Accurate Staging, of Los Angeles, built the festival’s V.I.P. structures and mezzanines. by Garth Meyer […]
Police Beat: Little League fast one, Uber getaway car, car as weapon
by Liz Mullen The Manhattan Beach Little League’s pitching machine was stolen sometime between April 16 and April 17. The machine was kept in a locked wooden shed at Live Oak Park on the 1900 block of Valley Drive. The shed was pried open. The MBPD is seeking the public’s help regarding an apparent hate […]
Manhattan team scores Rams Draft Experience videos
by Kevin Cody Two behind-the-scenes videos of last weekend’s Rams Draft Experience in Hermosa Beach were produced by the Manhattan Beach video production team of Travis Laubacher and Melissa Milo. Laubacher is a director of photography whose clients include AEG, and Nickelodeon. His instagram account (@cameraguytravis) also includes reels of South Bay life, including skateboarding, […]
Letters to the Editor 4-25-24
Outdoor dining tip Dear ER: This is so wrong on so many levels. One sentence in the article entitled “Outdoor Dining Implementation Estimated up to $20 Million (the title alone should give pause) should be bothersome to all Manhattan Beach residents (ER April 18). It states “The City’s finance department suggested the costs of the […]
Coastal Commission targets Hermosa Beach short term vacation rental ban
by Kevin Cody In 2016, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach city councils banned short term vacation rentals (STVRs) in residential neighborhoods. Both cities subsequently were sued by residential property owners with short term rentals in the coastal zone, where most of the cities’ hundreds of STVRs are located. The coastal zone extends 1,000 feet inland […]
Best of the Beach Dining & Entertainment 2024 Winners
Bartender Rico de Alba We live in a time of mixologists, that newer breed of bartender known for artfully concocting drinks. Rico de Alba can hold his own in this aspect of the craft, but what he concocts is something no amount of fancy ingredients can conjure. Rico makes the Shellback Tavern a home away […]
‘Because you need me,’ Courtney told Richstone
by Elka Worner Richstone Family Center President Roger Van Remmen once compared Dorothy Courtney to Mother Theresa. “She thought it was too much,” Van Remmen recalled. “But she was okay with us calling her the Godmother of Richstone.” Under Courtney’s leadership, Richstone grew from a “small home in Hawthorne with a chinchilla farm out back,” […]
COMMUNITY: Ralphs most steadfast employee retires after 51 years
by Mark McDermott Pamela Muelot was 18 years old and about to graduate from Redondo Union High School. She figured that working at the local Ralphs supermarket might be good while she figured out what to do with her life. “It was a summer job,” Muelot said. “I was going to graduate Redondo, and I […]
Police Beat: e-bike batteries, drug related deaths, and e-bike seminar
by Liz Mullen E-bike batteries targeted in Hermosa “The biggest crime trend involves property crimes,” Hermosa Beach Police Chief LeBaron said in a recent interview. “We see a lot of bicycles stolen from garages,” LeBaron said. “People have got to realize, those e-bikes are worth a couple of thousand dollars a piece.” “One crime we […]
LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Mayor Franklin declares State of the City “strong”
by Mark McDermott Mayor Joe Franklin’s late-starting and very local career in politics has been premised mostly on a single quality. His downright giddy love for his adopted hometown of Manhattan Beach. And so what was surprising about Franklin’s first State of the City address was certainly not its effusiveness but rather its brevity. For […]
MUNICIPAL FINANCE: City has an $11 million library surplus
by Mark McDermott The City Council last week grappled with an unusual problem. Its library fund has an $11 million surplus. The City of Manhattan Beach operates its own library, but the facility is a branch of the Los Angeles County Library System. Property taxes paid into the system by local residents far outpace the […]
Beach Cities Easter Services 2024
Manhattan Beach Manhattan Beach Community Church 303 S. Peck Avenue mbccucc.org Outdoor service, 6:30 a.m. North of Manhattan Beach Pier. Traditional services, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. at the church. Easter Egg Hunt, 10:14 a.m. All services will be led by Rev. Mark Pettis Journey of Faith Church 1243 Artesia Blvd. journeyoffaith.com/easter Two virtual […]
Letters to the Editor 3-21-24
Two-thirds, plus 1 Dear ER: Our sincere thanks go out to the community of Manhattan Beach for the renewal of Measure MB, the parcel tax measure which supports our local schools. Last week, the result settled with just over the required two-thirds supermajority, with only a trickle of votes left to count. The Yes on […]
Police Beat: MB smash and grabs, hit and run, and van with stolen good
By Liz Mullen Manhattan businesses victims of smash and grabs The Arco Station on Manhattan Beach. Boulevard and the AT&T Store on Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach were both hit by smash-and-grab thieves earlier this month. On March 4, at about 5 a.m. Manhattan Beach Police Department officers were called to the Arco Station on […]
ELECTION 2024: Napolitano finishes first in judicial race, faces runoff
by Mark McDermott Manhattan Beach Councilperson Steve Napolitano finished first among a field of four candidates in the race for Judge for the Superior Court of Los Angeles Seat 39. He will now face the second place finisher, Jacob Lee, in a runoff election in the November election. Napolitano said he was “honored and humbled” […]
Police Beat: Manhattan Beach Macy’s hit, BevMo burglars caught, Hermosa white collar crime, more car burglaries in Redondo
Manhattan apprehends retail robbers The Manhattan Beach Police Department dealt with multiple retail thefts earlier this month, including two incidents at the Macy’s, one of which involved juvenile suspects. On Feb. 15, MBPD officers responded to a call regarding a theft in progress at Macy’s involving six juvenile suspects. When MBPD officers arrived on scene, […]