Mon, May 12, 2008

The wrong man

by Paul Teetor

A surveillance videotape shows a short, mid-20s, Hispanic-looking male walking back and forth on the sidewalk outside the murder.First of two parts

Herbie Gonzalez glanced in his rearview mirror as he turned right from Normandie onto 35th Street. Sick and sweaty with the flu, he barely noticed the white Dodge Ram lurking in the cross-town traffic behind him.

The pickup truck followed Herbie onto 35th and slowly stalked his blue Nissan Maxima as it headed east. He pulled over to check out a bungalow with a For Sale sign out front and the Ram made a move to pass him. Suddenly it swerved over and squealed to a stop next to the Maxima, wedged in so close that it blocked Herbie from getting out.

Now he was paying FULL attention.

The long-haired white guy driving the Ram leaned across the cab and stuck his head out the passenger side window. He gave Herbie a crazy-eyes stare and slurred his words like he was in a hurry: “Heydude, youknowwhattimeitis?”

To Herbie, a 26-year-old rapper with a receding hairline and a recording deal about to be signed, the rock-n-roll look was all right but the wa  > more...

Beach Cities Sports

Co-ed softball in El Segundo
The City of El Segundo Recreation & Parks Department will be holding its adult co-ed softball league at George Brett Field beginning Monday, June 23.
Games for the 10-game season and one-week playoff will be played Monday through Thursday at 6:10 p.m., 7:25 p.m. and 8:40 p.m. Each team is allowed five players who do not meet league residency requirements.
Team managers are required to attend the manager’s meeting on Thursday, May 29 at 5 p.m. at the Joslyn Center in order to qualify. For more information, call 310-524-2700.

Sign-ups available for PV Marathon
The Palos Verdes Marathon, ½ Marathon, 5K Run and Community Walk will be held Saturday, May 17 on its rolling, looping, tree-lined and USA Track and Field certified course.
Starting  > more...


Harbor Lights

Ronald R. Mindeman needed help when he came to Redondo Beach and he got it. The legacy he left behind returned the kindness he found here many, many times over. Mindeman’s generosity continues to nourish bodies and souls at the Salvation Army (SA) facility that bears his name a block from King Harbor at Beryl and Catalina avenues

“I’m not sure how much is fact, fiction or legend,” said the facility’s Business Manager Leroy Radcliffe. “He was a homeless type character. They used to call them hobos. Unbeknownst to the people here, behind that guy who came in for food and shelter was a guy who left $30 million. Some say $3 million. Some say $300 million. From what I understand it was probably about $30 million. As a result of that, this place was able to go from one building wi > more...

Letters

Coach left behind
Dear ER:
Thank you for publishing “Cheerleaders try to save coach’s job,” (ER May 1, 2008). Coach Catherine Horzen really has been wonderful with these girls. It is my understanding the cheerleaders plan to continue to > more...


Easy Week

I didn't really know what to expect when I entered the Norris Theatre last week to see "Over the River and Through the Woods." Oh my goodness gracious! What an experience (especially for those of us in the "over 50s" crowd). Now you know. The dreaded secret is out. I'm old enough to be a grandmother. No doubt about it though, I love the role. As do the characters in this play. As an astute witness of how grandparents act, author Joe DiPietro seems to have hit the nail squarely on the head. He gives a right proper description of two sets of immigrant grandparents, their memories of hard times when they first set foot in this country, how hard they worked to put food on the table, and how they put the family first in everything. But the offspring have a different view of things.

Twenty-ni > more...

Theater Review

The Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities’ current production of 10-year Broadway hit “Miss Saigon” is a major undertaking, involving a cast of 30-plus, about 50 set changes and over 500 lighting cues. And, yes, there is a helicopter.

The direction by CLOSBC veteran Stephanie Coltrin was brilliant, with dozens of characters darting in and out of seemingly hundreds of scenes. The leads sang wonderfully, given that the score required them to vocalize usually a half-octave above the normal human range. Female lead Jennifer Paz (Kim) said in a previous interview that there was “a lot of angst” in her character. Much of the angst falls upon the composer. Why did songwriter Claude-Michel Schonberg write his principal roles so far above the staff? He must have been mistreated by a so > more...




Peninsula People


Coming soon...