Hermosa Beach settles potentially bankrupting lawsuit
Hermosa Beach officials have announced a settlement in a 14-year-long, $750 million lawsuit by Macpherson Oil Company that had threatened to bankrupt the city. In a conference call with reporters about two minutes after signing the agrement with oil comapny president Don Macpherson Jr., Mayor Howard Fishman said the settlement ends “the crippling litigation” that […]
Aggressive Hermosa Beach outdoor smoking ban to begin
Hermosa Beach City officials and public health agency representatives gathered on the Pier Plaza to promote perhaps the most aggressive outdoor smoking ban in the region, which begins Thursday, March 1 (see map below). The ban, approved by the City Council four months ago, nixes smoking at all of Hermosa’s outdoor dining areas, the popular […]
Hermosa Beach police sergeants score council members
All seven Hermosa Beach police sergeants have strongly urged the City Council not to look outside the department for help patrolling the Pier Plaza nightlife, contending that private security guards would not be qualified to do the job, and law officers from outside agencies would be more expensive to hire. Police found comments from a […]
Hermosa Beach moves to limit nightlife
To combat problems such as noise and rowdiness from Hermosa’s nightlife, the City Council moved toward barring new late-night alcohol-serving businesses, and capping existing nightspots at their current “intensification” of alcohol service, in already-saturated parts of town. The policy tentatively adopted by the council is designed to cap the occupant load of establishments serving alcohol […]
Hermosa Beach pension costs will decline
The City of Hermosa Beach will get some relief from its unusually high pension costs in six years, a consultant reported this week. Over the summer, the city was one of five municipalities in Los Angeles County singled out by a civil grand jury for a cautionary analysis of high pension costs. In Hermosa, which […]
Ace Hermosa Beach detective to retire
Detective Sgt. Raul “Sal” Saldana, who has worked many of the town’s most high-profile and difficult crime investigations, is hanging up his badge after a quarter century with the Hermosa Beach Police Department. The retirement of Saldana, 54, effective March 30, will be “a huge loss” to the force, interim Police Chief Steve Johnson said. […]
End sought to Hermosa’s coin parking meters
Mayor Howard Fishman said he wants to replace Hermosa’s coin-operated parking meters with meters that use credit cards, saying they are more customer-friendly and would save the city the cost of its workers who go meter-to-meter collecting the coins. “My whole thing is I would love to get out of the coin business and into […]
Hermosa Beach parking meter bugs ongoing
Abby Kahan, a bartender at Palmilla Cocina y Tequila on the Pier Plaza, stood at one of the central pay stations for the 300-plus parking meters at the municipal garage on Hermosa Avenue, peering at the screen through shades to shield her eyes from the Friday afternoon sun. Although she’s used to the drill, often […]
Becker Surfboards reopens with music, discounts
The remodeled Becker Surfboards store will celebrate the grand reopening of its flagship store on upper Pier Avenue with music by Bullys and Matadors, Whitley Heights and The Parted, plus food, ping-pong battles, discounts and giveaways, noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25. Giveaway events and contests will run throughout the day, and raffle tickets […]
Tattoo lawsuit against Hermosa Beach hit again
City Attorney Michael Jenkins called a lawsuit by tattoo parlor critics “an unfortunate waste of public resources,” on the heels of another ruling favorable to the City of Hermosa Beach. In November 2011 a judge dismissed the bulk of a lawsuit by former City Council candidate Hany Fangary and other residents calling for stricter regulations […]
Hermosa Beach News Briefs, Feb. 22, 2012
Have a heart The Hermosa Beach Education Foundation presents its annual “Hearts of Hermosa” dinner dance to benefit the city schools Saturday, March 24 at a private venue next to the Hermosa Beach Community Center, 720 Pier Ave. Doors open 5:45 p.m. Tickets are $140, or two for $250. Corporate and family sponsorships are available, […]
Historical mural is unveiled
Civic leaders, artists and others crowded onto a spacious third-floor rooftop to watch Saturday’s formal unveiling of a 52-foot long, 14-foot high mural depicting a 1909 Hermosa landscape, painted along the eastern wall of New Orleans Café on Pier Avenue. On hand at the afternoon gathering atop the 200 Pier office-retail complex, across Manhattan Avenue […]
Good news is found in Hermosa Beach city budget report
News of a slowly recovering economy was found in a mid-year Hermosa Beach budget report, which estimates a 4 percent rise in revenues flowing to City Hall, on the heels of a 1 percent revenue increase the year before. “As reported in January with the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for 2010-11, the revenue picture […]
Consultants are hired for a new school tax
The Hermosa Beach city school board has hired consultants to survey voters about a possible parcel-tax measure, and to aid in the campaign for the tax if it is eventually placed on the ballot. Some school board members said voters must approve a new tax or the little 1,300-student, K-8 district could not provide adequate […]
Park garden, food trucks okayed in Hermosa Beach
The City Council on Tuesday approved a community garden for a small section of South Park, and okayed food trucks for special events, church and school fundraisers. The council also took a first step in a “radical” change to a parking permit system for employees of Hermosa businesses. The council voted 3-2 to use 2.7 […]
CLO leaves Hermosa Beach
Citing an increase in the cost of producing shows at the Hermosa Playhouse, the Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities has moved its smaller productions to El Segundo, ending a 14-year run in Hermosa Beach. In a separate move, the CLO is relocating its larger productions to San Pedro from the Redondo Beach Performing […]