Posts by Mark McDermott
Manhattan Beach About Town
Manhattan Beach resident Anita Stichter turned 100 last week, an event marked by a celebration of her life at Live Oak Park. City Councilmember David Leader awarded Stichter with a certificate of Recognition from the City. She is the longest living resident of MB (90 years) and has served in numerous charitable and service groups…
Read MoreEly-Smartt Shops mural celebrates 75 years in Manhattan Beach
Three-quarters of a century ago, a woman named Exa Ely took notice of a patch of scrubby land along Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach. It’s hard to figure what exactly about it struck her imagination. The land was on the downward slope of a hill, just below the sand dunes that criss-crossed the town. Maybe…
Read MoreGelson’s arrives, hoping to win over neighborhood
It was a store opening five years in the making, one that included overcoming an organized campaign against a grocery store being located at the former site of a Chevy dealership. But on Wednesday morning, Gelson’s Market officially arrived in Manhattan Beach. “It took us too long, but it was well worth the wait,” said…
Read MoreSouth Bay firefighting crew battles Woolsey wildfire
A crew of 21 firefighters from South Bay fire departments has been fighting the Woolsey fire for the last week. The crew, which includes five four-man engines and a battalion chief, is part of an enormous collaborative effort that brought together 3,592 firefighters attempting to contain what would eventually become a 93,662 acre…
Read MoreMBUSD mold, asbestos abatement costs $1.2 million
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Education last week allocated $1.2 million for the abatement of asbestos disturbed at Mira Costa High School and mold discovered at schools throughout the district. The asbestos problem, which is the result of a contractor sanding a floor at the Mira Costa library in mid-August, is…
Read MoreFood, family, fate
Adam Aro, Sara Gabriele and the making of Gabi James restaurant When Adam Aro steered his houseboat into the slip right next to Sara Gabriele’s houseboat one July day on Lake Shasta in 2008, he had little idea what would ensue, much less than ten years later he and this beautiful stranger would…
Read MoreA pier gift
The unveiling of the new Roundhouse Aquarium Thirteen hundred and eight days since the passing of his 19-year-old son Harrison, Michael Greenberg on Tuesday stood before a podium at the end of the Manhattan Beach pier and looked out into the crowd. “The skies opened up for us today,” said Greenberg. Behind him, light spilled…
Read MoreMold, asbestos problems linger at MBUSD
Eugene Jurinsky moved to Manhattan Beach five years ago in large part because he had two young boys and he knew local schools were academically sound. Of late, he’s wondered about that decision, not because the schools aren’t great academically, but because they seem to be falling apart physically. His youngest boy, Michael, is…
Read MoreThe continuing adventures of Chef Jack
Jack Witherspoon beat cancer three times before he was 12. Now he’s invented a new kind of cookie aimed at helping kids like himself. Jack Witherspoon was 6 years old. He was leaving the Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach with his parents, John and Lisa Witherspoon. They’d just received horrific news. The leukemia Jack…
Read MoreFormer Manhattan Beach city manager Mark Danaj and his longtime municipal colleagues blaze a lucrative trail, together
Since Mark Danaj was fired as Manhattan Beach city manager less than a year ago, he has notably landed on his feet twice. First, he landed a temporary job with the City of Santa Clara in time to avoid a reduction in his premium-level state pension. Next, he settled into a permanent job as city…
Read MoreManhattan Beach Police Beat
Elderly woman killed in car accident An elderly woman died Monday afternoon when the car in which she was a passenger collided with a truck on Marine Avenue. Her husband of six decades was the car ’s driver. According to Manhattan Beach Police Department reports, the accident occured at 12:17 p.m. at the intersection of Marine…
Read MoreParking lot theft shows ‘people are watching’
Two weeks ago, Jessie Lee Cederblom had just landed the kind of assignment photographers seek all their working lives. It was a video shoot for the revered fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar. The gig was to shoot a movie star on set. She needed a camera capable of filming well in low light, and she found…
Read MoreManhattan Beach About Town
Friendship walk The Skechers Foundation hopes to break its donation and attendance records this Sunday morning at the organization’s 10th annual Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk, which is expected to surpass $2 million for the first time in the event’s history. California’s largest walk in support of children with special needs and education begins…
Read MoreSecond floor outdoor dining considered
The City Council on Tuesday night rejected nearly all of the California Coastal Commission’s 27 modification of its proposed Downtown Specific Plan but reconsidered a ban on second-floor outdoor dining that the plan had included. The council approved a set of ordinances that will effectively replace the Specific Plan, which the city has worked towards…
Read MoreES arts and culture – George the Fourth
George Renfro, a fourth generation El Segundo native, hopes to keep his hometown true to itself through art and orneriness
Read MoreManhattan Beach About Town
Tip-A-Cop The Manhattan Beach Police Department and Manhattan Beach Fire Department will take protect and serve to a whole new level at a Tip-A-Cop fundraiser at Tin Roof Bistro on Nov. 8 from 5 to 9 p.m. Officers and firefighters will serve as hosts and waiters, and all tips they receive will be donated to…
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