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On the Waterfront
The
International Body Surfing Championships will be held Saturday at the Manhattan
Beach pier in conjunction with the Beach Cities Health District International
Surf Festival and Health Fair. Competition begins at 7:15 a.m. Also on Saturday,
the Western Region Surfing Championships will be held at 45th St. in Manhattan,
beginning at 6:45 a.m.
TEMPERMENTAL TARANGO TABBED: Manhattan Beach native Jeff Tarango, a top-100 professional tennis player known for his volatile temper, has been named to the U.S. Olympic tennis team that will compete next month in Sydney, Australia. Tarango, 31, ranked number 81 in the world, was chosen after Pete Sampras and Jan-Michael Gambill declined invitations.
BEACH CITIES BONANZA: For another year, the beach cities experienced impressive gains in property valuation, with Hermosa, Redondo and Manhattan all among the top 10 in L.A. County according to statistics released by the County Assessor's Office. Redondo saw the biggest jump among the beach cities. Its overall assessed property valuation jumped 10.9 percent to $6.46 billion, third in the county behind El Segundo and Carson. Manhattan Beach saw its valuation rise 9.9 percent to $5.81 billion, while Hermosa's increase was 9 percent to 2.19 billion.
SHARK WATERS: If the testosterone level seemed unusually high in the water at 3rd St. in Manhattan Beach two Saturday's ago, blame Surf Academy instructor Mary Setterholm. The former US Woman's Surfing Champion was attempting to teach a class of 30 O'Melveny and Meyers attorneys to surf. "They were kind of stubborn, but when they wiped out, they paddled right back out. If I ever get sued, I'm going to hire them," Setterholm said.
PRISONER'S RIGHTS: An intermittent South Bay heat wave prompted HB Police Chief Val Straser to recall how he got air conditioning for his boys and girls in blue, back in the mid-90s. The folks at county corrections were kicking up a fuss about keeping prisoners in sweltering jails, so Straser asked the city council to provide his prisoners with air conditioning. And while he was at it, he mentioned that the rest of the police station could use a little A-C as well, and the council made it so. Smart, but not smart enough, the chief says, pointing out that the air conditioning reaches throughout most of the police station - but not as far as his own office...
ALOHA DAYS: Surfers competing in this weekend's Surf Festival contests will have a second opportunity the following weekend to show off in front of the home town crowd. Hermosa's 4th Annual Aloha Days will be held at the Hermosa Pier Saturday and Sunday, August 12 and 13. Longboard, shortboard and bodyboard contests start Saturday morning, followed by a Hawaiian music ceremony at 11 a.m. and a guest appearance by Hawaiian rock star Henry Kapono.