Posts by Ryan McDonald
Fire damages Manhattan Beach’s Strand House
A fire started after business hours inside the Strand House restaurant early Saturday morning, damaging the popular downtown Manhattan Beach eatery and forcing its temporary closure, firefighters said. The Manhattan Beach Fire Department received a call about the blaze about 4:30 a.m. from a crew scheduled to clean the restaurant, said MBFD Batallion Chief Scott…
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Coffee with a cop The Hermosa Beach Police Department will host “Coffee with a Cop” this Thursday evening. Coffee with a Cop is an opportunity for residents to have informal discussions about local concerns with the officers. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., in the City Council Chambers. Puppeteer needs medical aidRic Morton has spent more…
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Roommate spat escalates A disagreement between roommates turned ugly in downtown Hermosa earlier this week when one roommate threw the other to the ground, causing serious injuries. The incident occurred about 2 a.m. Saturday in the 200 block of Pier Avenue, according to police reports. Both roommates were intoxicated and got into a verbal disagreement…
Read MoreEnd in sight for Vista del Mar lane closures
After nearly two months of frustration from South Bay commuters, officials announced the imminent restoration of traffic lanes on Vista del Mar. Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin announced Wednesday evening that an additional lane in each direction on the popular artery would be restored within three weeks. Traffic light changes at the intersection of…
Read MoreHermosa Beach’s Bard Street to be gated, closed to pedestrians
The Hermosa Beach City Council unanimously voted Tuesday night to fully close off Bard Street, citing safety concerns associated with leaving public safety equipment and personnel exposed on an open roadway. City staff will erect gates at two intersections to the west and south of City Hall and the Police Department: at Bard and Pier…
Read MoreManhattan Beach Body of local hiker missing since October found in Sierra Nevadas
The body of Robert “Bob” Woodie, a Manhattan Beach resident who went missing while hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains last year, was found earlier this month by hikers. Last October, Woodie had gone into the mountains alone near Bishop, California. His family had expected him to return by Oct. 16 or 17. When he…
Read MorePLAN HERMOSA General Plan set for vote next month
The Hermosa Beach City Council made what it hopes will be the last of its changes to PLAN Hermosa before the master planning document comes up for an approval vote next month. PLAN Hermosa and its associated environmental impact documents will have a public hearing at the Aug. 22 council meeting. City staff expects the…
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Sewer service fee rebate Eligible disabled Hermosa residents have until July 30 to apply for a rebate of the city’s sewer service fee. The rebate will cover all of the fees and is available to property owners older than 65, or those who are permanently disabled and have an annual household income of less than…
Read MorePatinar not just patina: Passion for skateboarding takes Hermosa Beach’s Anne Williams to Cuba
Anne Williams and her husband John were under the First Street Bridge, one of the viaducts that cross the Los Angeles River and connect Boyle Heights to downtown Los Angeles, when Williams heard a male voice. “Hey Anne!” it called out, “From the Friendship Bell, right?” The scene played out last year on Go Skateboarding…
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PLAN Hermosa meeting The Hermosa Beach City Council will hold a follow-up hearing on PLAN Hermosa, its updates to its General Plan and Local Coastal Program, next Monday evening in City Council Chambers. The 6 p.m. meeting is one of several study sessions the council has held on the plan in recent months and follows…
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Victim stabbed with box cutter One person was in custody after allegedly attacking a man with a box cutter and hitting him in the head with a skateboard in South Hermosa Saturday evening, according to police reports. The incident occurred about 11 p.m. on Hermosa Avenue near the intersection with Herondo Street, police said. The…
Read MoreLawsuit threat from Manhattan Beach looms over Vista del Mar lane closures
Amid mounting regional concern over impact on commute times for South Bay residents, Manhattan Beach has authorized a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles over road reconfigurations in that city. By a unanimous vote, the City Council last week directed City Attorney Quinn Barrow to initiate litigation should ongoing attempts at negotiation fail to…
Read MoreHermosa Beach older adults work to steer city services
In the early 1970s, President Nixon and Chairman Mao thawed relations between the United States and China through the exchange of table tennis players. This week, the Hermosa Five-O Advisory Committee had to do a bit of ping-pong diplomacy of their own. The committee had gathered Tuesday morning for its monthly meeting at the Senior…
Read MoreHermosa Beach City Council digs into nitty-gritty of General Plan provisions
After months of fiery discussions and fundamental disagreements about the future of the city, the Hermosa Beach City Council had reached a tipping point: “Meet” or “Meet and exceed”? The debate was one of several at Tuesday night’s council meeting surrounding the city’s goals for municipal greenhouse gas reductions that will eventually be embodied in…
Read MoreLuke’s Legacy: Remembering Mira Costa alumnus Luke Gilroy
Luke Gilroy did not seem like the kind of person in need of drastic change. He had a rewarding job Fidelity Investments as a research analyst. What free time remained he filled with volunteering at food banks and homeless shelters, and spirited athletic pursuits, like organizing hikes and ski trips. So it came as…
Read MoreHermosa Beach About Town: HBFD’s pancake breakfast, and Shakespeare by the Sea
Pancake breakfast The Hermosa Beach Fire Department will host its annual Charity Pancake Breakfast this Sunday. The breakfast will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hermosa Beach Fire Station on Pier Avenue. This will be the first iteration of the annual breakfast following the City Council’s decision to contract with the…
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