Posts by Mark McDermott
MUSIC: The return of Dirk Hamilton
Dirk Hamilton was the one that got away. Back in the mid 1970s, it was apparent to anyone who saw and heard Hamilton perform that he was headed for big things. He was a tall, rangy, handsome kid with a soul singer’s voice and an exuberant musicality that fairly burst from the stage and left…
Read MorePolice nab two men for attempted murder in stabbing in Redondo Beach
Two men were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder early Wednesday morning, only minutes after they allegedly stabbed and punched four men outside a Redondo Beach bar. According to the Redondo Beach Police Department, the men arrested were Martin Reynosa, 24, from Wilmington, and Timothy Fitzpatrick, 23, from Harbor Gateway. The incident occurred at 1:40…
Read MoreJesse Malin’s rock redemption
From Springsteen to Strummer with Salinger and the cops: Jesse Malin’s rock redemption True story: J.D. Salinger helped Jesse Malin get back to his punk rock roots. He also helped him get thrown in jail, where he was bailed out by Bruce Springsteen and YouTube. Last year, Malin was down and out on the Upper…
Read MoreFormer Hennessey CFO arrested for alleged embezzlement of $1.1 million
Former Hennessey’s Chief Financial Officer James Cram was arrested last week by Redondo Beach Police Department detectives for allegedly embezzling $1.1 million from the local restaurant chain. Police arrived at Cram’s Rancho Palos Verdes home last Thursday morning with an arrest warrant for 19 felony counts, including grand theft, money laundering, and tax evasion. The…
Read MoreMystery at Topaz substation
A Redondo Beach family is forced out of their home due to stray voltage emanating from a neighboring electrical facility Simona Wilson could not have been much happier in her south Redondo Beach home until the day earlier this year when a new shower was installed in her master bathroom. Her life since has included…
Read MoreRedondo Beach Unified School District and City of Redondo Beach land swap taken off the table
The proposed property exchange between the Redondo Beach Unified School District and the City of Redondo Beach involving the South Bay Adult School has been taken off the table. After four months of negotiations, district officials this week decided to end talks regarding the adult school site, which was formerly Edison Elementary School. RBUSD Board…
Read MoreA Swamp Thing: Honey Island Swamp Band plays Saint Rocke
The return of Honey Island Swamp Band When Katrina came and the Mississippi’s waters washed away much of New Orleans, among the city’s greatest losses was the exodus of its musicians, who scattered across America in search of shelter and a paying gig. One of the places some found refuge was at the Boom Boom…
Read MoreCity, RBUSD land swap is dead
The proposed property exchange between the Redondo Beach Unified School District and the City of Redondo Beach involving the South Bay Adult School has been taken off the table. After four months of negotiations, district officials this week decided to end talks regarding the adult school site, which was formerly Edison Elementary School. RBUSD Board…
Read MoreThe accidental flautist: the continuing adventures of Tim Weisberg
Second of two parts. See part one. After playing the Newport Jazz Festival in 1970, Tim Weisberg finally realized that he was a legitimate bandleader. He also realized that if he was genuinely going to live as a professional musician it was time to do what musicians do – make a record. It wasn’t the…
Read MoreA soldier comes home on a special mission
U.S. Army Sgt. Sean Ambriz returned home to Redondo Beach from Afghanistan on a two week “R & R” leave last week. But he wasn’t here only to rest and relax: he was a man on a mission. He’d been working on the logistics for several months. During his brief, erratic periods of internet access…
Read MoreThere’s no place like home: Hermosa Beach resident wins Hermosa Beach Open
After competing in nine international and three domestic tournaments, Hermosa Beach resident Casey Jennings made the most of his time at home, capturing the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach National Championships with first-time partner Pedro Salgado. With assistance from beach volleyball great Mike Dodd, who served as coach, the fourth-seeded team of Jennings and Salgado defeated…
Read MoreCourt overturns day laborer ruling
An eleven-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit federal appeals court last week ruled that a Redondo Beach ordinance aimed at curtailing day laborers soliciting work on city streets was unconstitutional in a vehemently contested 9-2 decision. A strongly worded dissent by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski that begins with the words “This is folly” signaled that…
Read MoreThe accidental flautist
The return of Tim Weisberg, the man who helped bring the flute to rock music and disappeared under the tide of smooth jazz Tim Weisberg just wanted to play drums. He had entered Daniel Webster Junior High School in West Hollywood on a mission of a sort. His parents – much to their eventual regret,…
Read MoreComite De Jornaleros De Redondo Beach vs. City of Redondo Beach [COURT DECISION]
FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT COMITE DE JORNALEROS DE REDONDO BEACH; NATIONAL DAY LABORER ORGANIZING NETWORK, No. 06-55750 Plaintiffs-Appellees, D.C. No. v. CV-04-09396-CBM CITY OF REDONDO BEACH, Defendant-Appellant. COMITE DE JORNALEROS DE REDONDO BEACH; NATIONAL DAY No. 06-56869 LABORER ORGANIZING NETWORK, D.C. No. Plaintiffs-Appellees, CV-04-09396-CBM v. OPINION CITY OF…
Read MoreThe Sixth Annual D-Man Festival [PHOTOS]
The Sixth Annual D-Man Festival in honor of Darren Marsee raises money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Sponsored by Dive N Surf.
Read MoreCivic Light Opera of the South Bay finds likely new home
At one o’clock in the morning on one of the worst days of his life, James Blackman was sitting in the parking lot of the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, weeping. The city had that day formally evicted The Civic Light Opera of the South Bay, the award-winning theatrical production company that Blackman founded twenty…
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