Posts by Mark McDermott
A high-tech Redondo Beach police sting operation nets an unexpected bounty: dozens of career criminals
The signal went out late on a Friday afternoon. From various points in the South Bay, a Special Investigations Unit comprised of eight detectives from three different police departments were simultaneously alerted via text message. The bait bike was on the move. The bicycle had been chained to a rack near the Green Line station…
Read MoreThe travels of Ottmar
Master guitarist and Zen monk Ottmar Liebert comes to Saint Rocke Forty years ago an unusual boy, born with a faraway look in his eyes, wandered the streets of Cologne, Germany. Ottmar Liebert, as he would later describe himself, was a mutt. The son of a German-Chinese father and a Hungarian mother, Liebert possessed a…
Read MoreRBPD officer charged with tipping off TPD officer
An RBPD officer stands accused of tipping off a Torrance officer about the police stakeout of a drug deal that may reveal larger problems within the Torrance PD
Read MoreThe Bearback Invitational trophy, back at The Pitcher House
The Redondo Beach Super Bowl 10K [PHOTOS]
Thousands of runners, walkers, and buggy pushers showed up early Sunday morning for the Redondo Beach Super Bowl 10k, 5k, and buggy races. The event, an annual tradition sponsored by the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce, also features a costume contest.
Read MoreThe Redondo Beach Super Bowl 10k Costume Contest [PHOTOS]
Thousands showed up early Sunday morning — many donning capes, wigs, tights, face paint, and a wild variety of other costumes — for the annual Redondo Beach Super Bowl 10k. The event, sponsored by the RB Chamber of Commerce, also included a 5k and buggy races. See photos of the race itself, as well. Photos…
Read MoreEyelash Factory plays Saint Rocke [MUSIC PREVIEW]
“We try to make our shows as mysterious, and as big, as possible,” Baranchik said. “Rock n Roll.” Phil Baranchick’s Eyelash Factory plays Saint Rocke on Saturday.
Read MoreBlake Griffin’s dunk: Manhattan Beach resident’s play of the year [VIDEO]
Blake Griffin’s Huge Dunk Over Kendrick Perkins Vs OKC 1.30.12 [NBA] HD
Read MoreRedondo firefighters fight for IKEA Rescue Remodel
The Redondo Beach Fire Department is one of five fire departments competing in IKEA’s Rescue Remodel contest to win a new $25,000 kitchen remodel. But despite the fact RBFD firefighters live in a leaky 60-year-old building with 28-year-old kitchen cupboards and counters and have taken pay cuts three years running, the department is running second-to-last…
Read MoreHope Chapel hosts car wash benefiting family of Priscilla Ruiz
A car wash benefiting the family of Priscilla Ruiz, the 19-year-old girl killed in a car accident in Redondo Beach, will be held at Hope Chapel tomorrow (Jan. 27) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from noon til 4 p.m. 2420 Pacific Coast Highway, Hermosa Beach.
Read MoreSurf’s Up: El Porto and the Manhattan Beach Pier Jan. 22 [PHOTOS]
[scrollGallery id=304] Waves at the Manhattan Beach Pier and El Porto ranged five to seven feet with an occasional eight-footer Sunday and photographer Mara Laine shot several surfers, including up-and-coming competitive surfer Natalie Anzivino surfing one of her favorite spots, the southside of the pier.
Read MoreIn search of purpose: Richard Leider brings a vital question to the Beach Cities
Richard Leider has a question for you. How you answer this question goes a long ways towards determining how long, and how well, you will live. Why do you get up in the morning? The nationally recognized author and executive coach, who is considered a pioneer in the field life/work design, is part of the…
Read MoreThe Descendants: Slack Key Festival continues a tradition that goes back to the ancient kings of Hawaii
Long ago in the backyards and byways of Hawaii a secret music of a sort was played.
Its roots went back to the last kings of Hawaii and to the wandering Portuguese and Mexican cowboys who’d arrived to tend to their cattle. But the style – which later would be called “Slack Key” – was uniquely adapted, family by family, place by place, to become a truly native Hawaiian music.
Read MoreReturn of the King: Elvis comes to Hermosa Beach
James Kruk didn’t realize it until much later, but Elvis was on his trail. He remembers traces of the King from his early childhood in New York in the 1970s. Elvis Presley by that point had transcended mere coolness and had become what qualifies as royalty in the United States. Gone were the heartthrob movies…
Read MoreNew Year’s Eve: Chris Robinson, Motorboats, Berry Bly, feasts
The Chris Robinson Brotherhood at Saint Rocke This booking qualifies as a musical extravaganza: Chris Robinson, who as lead singer of The Black Crowes sold 13 million records, brings his newly formed The Chris Robinson Brotherhood (curiously minus brother Rich) to Saint Rocke for a special New Year’s Eve show. Since The Black Crowes burst…
Read MoreFor whom the bell tolled: community leaders who passed away in 2011
Hermosa icon John Workman In November Hermosa dignitaries, friends and family filled much of the large Community Center playhouse to say goodbye to longtime City Treasurer John Workman, who died of an apparent heart attack at age 73, just three days after he lost a reelection bid. Workman’s body lay within a stately casket surrounded…
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