Slackstring rides again
Gavin Heaney was in his second year at Mira Costa High School and still a little bit jittery about the whole social situation when a tall pink-haired guy approached him one day in the fall of 1993. “Hey,” the kid said. “I hear you play bass. Do you want to be in our band?” Heaney […]
Manhattan Beach About Town
New undergrounding district is formed The City Council unanimously approved the formation of a new utility undergrounding district Tuesday night after petitions were submitted from residents indicating that over 50 percent favored the district. District 4 will now go to an official vote throughout the neighborhood, which consists of 167 parcels located between Valley Drive, […]
Community honors veterans
The 22nd annual Veteran’s Day Intergenerational Event lived up to its name Monday. Cub Scout Troop #275 led the Pledge of Allegiance. The Manhattan Beach Middle School choir sang the Star-Spangled Banner. The MBPD Color Guard conducted a solemn Presentation of the Colors. Three Girl Scouts who have attended the ceremony 10 years straight […]
Juvenile gray whale visits Manhattan Beach Pier
Mike Balzer was standing on the Manhattan Beach Pier last Thursday morning looking out at the ocean and silently bemoaning the lack of waves when he noticed something odd. A few hundred yards south, just beyond a standup paddler at the Surfline, the water was roiling. Something very large was surfacing. “There was this huge […]
A new storefront in Manhattan Beach offers an antidote to plastic pollution
The Waste Less Shop helps you save the planet one pour at a time Stephanie Cochrane’s head was in the clouds. She was alone, backpacking north through the Sagarmāthā Valley in Nepal, on a 13-day trek to the Mount Everest Base Camp, and at the very beginning of a three-month journey through nine of […]
Veterans Memorial celebrates 25 years in Hermosa
In 1994, Edward P. Scott, then an assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, came to Hermosa Beach. Scott had arrived just before Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May, for the dedication of Hermosa’s Veterans Memorial. Scott said that, in the course of his job, he had been to plenty of […]
The Waste Less Shop: an antidote to plastic pollution in Manhattan Beach
Stephanie Cochrane’s head was in the clouds. She was alone, backpacking north through the Sagarmāthā Valley in Nepal, on a 13-day trek to the Mount Everest Base Camp, and at the very beginning of a three-month journey through nine of the wildest and most beautiful countries on Earth. She’d flown in the previous day […]
MBFD helps an old Marine while fighting Kincade wildfire
An engine company from the Manhattan Beach Fire Department was part of a South Bay strike team that helped fight the largest wildfire in California so far this year, the Kincade Fire. While they were helping to contain that fire, they also were able to provide assistance for an old Marine whose American flag […]
Manhattan Beach City Council nixes further LA County Fire study
The City Council Tuesday night called an end to the consideration of merging the Manhattan Beach Fire Department into the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The council unanimously voted to decline further study and discussion of the matter. Mayor Nancy Hersman said that exploring the idea of contracting out fire services to LA County […]
Ava’s excellent adventure: a second-grader fights fire
Ava Goldstone had a busy week. On Thursday, she was preparing to be a “blow-up unicorn” for Halloween, meaning a unicorn of the variety that inflates. But before she even got to the unicorn phase of the week, on Monday morning, she rode a fire engine to her school, Pennekamp Elementary. “It was exciting […]
“Bold Visions” take flight at TEDxManhattanBeach
A bioremediation engineer, an amphibious housing architect, a robotics engineer, and a couple sleep scientist. A forgiver, an Alzheimer’s disrupter, an urban climate scientist, an augmented reality storyteller, a music man, and a pair of sound healers (who also happen to be brothers and war veterans). These are some of the speakers at this […]
EIR released for West Basin desalinization plant
The West Basin Municipal Water District on Wednesday released the much anticipated Environmental Impact Report for the ocean water desalination plant it has proposed in El Segundo. The report, required by state and federal law, does not differ significantly from a draft version released 18 months ago. But its release is a […]
Council to revisit county takeover of MBFD
The City Council will revisit the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s proposal to provide fire services locally, a move that would eliminate the Manhattan Beach Fire Department. The council moved on Tuesday night to bring the matter back at its next meeting. Mayor Nancy Hersman, who temporarily shelved the matter last month with the […]
Manhattan Beach About Town
Disaster preparedness for local businesses Business owners are invited to join the Manhattan Beach Fire Department Fire Prevention Division on Oct. 23 for an evening of important facts and tips to safeguard businesses from a variety of looming hazards. Among the topics covered will be: fire/safety; fire extinguisher demo; AED overview; a mock business inspection. […]
Joan’s Wish List: A mother’s giving lives on
It began with a eulogy. Five years ago, Michael Williams’ mother, Joan Marie Williams, succumbed after a battle with lung cancer. At her memorial, Michael spoke about the secret life of his mother. Joan Williams was a sassy woman from Brooklyn. She wasn’t quiet about much in her life, save one aspect. She was […]
The Manhattan Beach 10k’s storybook ending
Matthew Arruda had run this route hundreds of times. As he came flying down Rosecrans towards the ocean and wrapped a hard left onto the Strand, the Manhattan Beach Pier came into view. He was on the home stretch. What was different is that hundreds of people lined the Strand, cheering him on. And […]