On The WaterFront

CAN WE ALL JUST GET A LOAN? The Manhattan Beach City Council on Tuesday approved a low-interest loan not to exceed $500,000 to Police Chief Ernie Klevesahl so that he can buy a home in Manhattan Beach. "The cost of housing within Manhattan Beach is extremely high, making affordability an issue," the staff report said. "As head of the City's police force, it is important for the Police Chief to live within Manhattan Beach." The loan assistance is similar to the deal the city made with Geoff Dolan when he took over as City Manager in 1995.

VEDDY BRITISH: Following Hermosan Kimberly Po's Wimbledon victory, her roommate phoned her in England to say he was clearing off the mantle to make room for her trophy. "I'm not sure that's quite necessary," Po told him. The trophy given her to bring home wasn't the two-foot tall sterling silver urn she and partner Donald Johnson hoisted over their heads in the victory photography. In typically British understatement, the trophies given Wimbledon winners to take home are about the size of a tall wine glass. Which isn't to say they are not still Bristol beautiful.

COMMANDER IRRESISTABLE : "I just want to give you a big hug," the proud mother of a U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduate called out to President Clinton, after the president addressed the academy's graduating class. The President's ears perked up, and to the horror of his Secret Service guards, the president responded, "I can't resist an offer like that." Then he marched through the crowd to give the mother an Arkansas bear hug. Said Steve Crecy of Hermosa Beach, another proud ensign parent who attended the May ceremony to see his son Kevin graduate, "You've got to admit. The President's a trooper."

THOSE WACKY COMMISSIONERS: The HB city council appointed three new planning commissioners, Pete Tucker, Ronald Pizer and Langley Kersenboom, whose application included the pledge that as a commissioner he would "overlook future planning decisions." The council passed on candidate Joel Shapiro, whose application included the bona fide that "Each and every day after I walk our dog, I pick up after him."

THOSE DARN SUV'S: Residents along 18th Street near busy Valley Drive were delighted when the HB city council agreed to turn the intersection into a three-way stop. Resident Earl Keegan told council members that he has a tough time turning onto Valley, especially considering the height and bulk of the newer vehicles parked near the intersection. "One neighbor had an Explorer, and you could see over that, but now he's got an Expedition. And he's adding a boat," Keegan lamented...