Posts by Mark McDermott
Best craft beer brewery: Strand Brewing Co.
The story has become the stuff of myth. It’s a buddy story about the cool half-genius, fully strange kid and his somewhat dorky but super social buddy who combine to do something that defies all odds. And indeed, brew master Joel Elliot and one-man sales army/marketing machine Rich Marcello have known each other since they…
Read MoreBest craft beer bar: Simmzy’s
Hats off to the Brothers Simms, Chris and Mike – or better yet, a tip of a tasty pint to a family that has raised the game for fine food and drink in Manhattan Beach and the South Bay. The Simms family launched locally with the purchase of The Kettle by Tom Simms Sr. ,…
Read MoreFroth Cometh: Local craft beer, food, and music at The Froth Awards on St.Pat’s Day
Local craft breweries and chefs gather for a different kind of Saint Patrick’s Day celebration in Hermosa Beach Sunday: The Froth Awards.
Read MoreFroth Cometh: The Easy Reader Beer Experience on Saint Patrick’s Day in Hermosa Beach
The Easy Reader is teaming with Saint Rocke, all five locally based craft breweries, and chefs from Hudson House (famous Top Chef Brooke Williamson), Hot’s Kitchen, Simmzy’s, Tin Roof Bistro, and Rockefeller for a very special celebration of the emerging craft beer and fine food movement on Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17 (no green beer…
Read MoreHigh Fidelity: Jimmy and Holly Messer and the fine art of staying true
Jimmy Messer always noticed her in the crowd. He knew Holly Frerichs. He’d first laid eyes on her freshman year when he’d stopped by Holly’s dorm room to pick up her roommate for a date. They were both students at the University of Texas, in Austin, and there was something about Holly that struck…
Read MoreGallup: Beach Cities’ health indicators make big gains
Gallup data shows dramatic health improvements in the Beach Cities two years into the Blue Zones Project.
Read MoreTommy Emmanuel, arguably the greatest living guitarist, returns to Redondo Beach
More than 300 nights a year, Tommy Emmanuel strides onto stages the world over and does things with the six strings of an acoustic guitar that nobody who hears will likely ever forget. The Australian, known as “The Wizard of Oz,” seems to be playing three instruments, sometimes four – bass, rhythm, and lead guitar,…
Read MoreEl Segundo teens urge ‘Think Before You Toss’
Three El Segundo High School student groups join forces on a campaign identifying our wasteful ways and how to get better: “Think Before You Toss.”
Read MoreBeach Blue Zones miracle: Beach Cities show big health gains
The Blue Zones Project in the Beach Cities ambitious goal — the help residents live longer, better — is working. And the data shows it.
Read MoreEl Segundo City Treasurer resigns amid allegations of an affair
City Treasurer Chris Powell has resigned his post after the husband of school board trustee Laura Gambel sent an email to city officials detailing what he alleged was an affair between his wife and Powell. The email was sent Nov. 24, the day after Gabel allegedly discovered his wife and Powell together in what he…
Read MoreRepo man run over while trying to claim car in El Segundo
A man whose 1999 Mercedes was being repossessed has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly ran over the man trying to claim his car last week in El Segundo. Stephen Jimenez, 33, was apparently behind in his loan payments when a representative from a finance company arrived to take the car. As the…
Read MoreChevron, El Segundo reach $134 million settlement
After a year of intense negotiations that began with the firing a former city manager, the City of El Segundo and Chevron have tentatively agreed to a settlement in which city will receive an estimated $134 million over the next 15 years in lieu of disputed tax payments. The City Council on Tuesday night voted…
Read MoreThe return of Peter Goetz
Peter Goetz gets around. For the last decade, Goetz has travelled the far-flung corners of the world, working as a crewmember and more recently as a director on television shows such as Survivor and The Amazing Race. He’s been to 65 countries so far and one gets the sense he’s just begun. Goetz, a Mira…
Read MoreManhattan Beach police seeks help finding alleged cell phone creeper
Police are searching for a man who walked up behind a woman at a gas station on Sepulveda Boulevard, flashed his phone camera under her skirt and fled. “This woman has been victimized. It was hurtful for her to contact us,” said Det. Mike Allard of the Manhattan Beach Police Department. “And the crime he…
Read MoreFirefighter, fisherman save drowning woman near Manhattan Beach pier
A firefighter and a fisherman together helped save the life of a distraught woman who jumped off the Manhattan Beach Pier Saturday night.
Read MoreThe Blasters come to Hermosa Beach
The Blasters are, in a real sense, more than just a band. They are a repository of American music. They are a living link that connects Woody Guthrie, Muddy Waters, and Chuck Berry to rockabilly, punk rock, and cowboy poetry.
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