Posts by Ryan McDonald
Summer Calendar 2017 – Beach Camps
Pretty much 365 days a year, you can go out and go surfing.
Read MoreHermosa Beach ShockBoxx, new art gallery, is ready to ‘Break the System’
Mike Collins and Laura Schuler were gazing in wonder at the walls of ShockBoxx, the new art gallery they are opening on Cypress Avenue. The first official show takes place this weekend, but a sort of soft opening happened last month, when they invited fellow Hermosa Beach artists LG Givot and Josh Barnes…
Read MoreHermosa Beach Pickleball courts open
After years of waiting, the pickleballers finally squared off on a court of their very own. Monday morning marked the grand opening of the first designated pickleball courts in Hermosa Beach. Dozens of people assembled at the Clark Field Kelley Courts, where a former tennis court had been restriped and converted into four pickleball…
Read MoreManhattan Beach’s Terry McDermott pens hardball inquiry “Off Speed”
In August 1982, Major League Baseball fined pitcher Gaylord Perry $250 and suspended him for 10 days. The penalties originated from an umpire’s ruling that Perry, then pitching for the Seattle Mariners, had doctored two of his pitches in a game against the Boston Red Sox. News of the suspension was notable in part…
Read MoreGroup takes on city accessibility issues in Hermosa Beach
The March 2015 vote on Measure O, which would have lifted Hermosa Beach’s ban on oil drilling, produced more excitement over the democratic process than any local election in recent memory, drawing record numbers to the polls. On election day, Hermosa resident Geoff Hirsch went down to City Council chambers, his designated polling place,…
Read MoreSouth Bay residents to discuss healthcare experiences at upcoming event
Lori Furth thought she had explained her needs clearly. Years ago, the Manhattan Beach and her husband were planning to have another child. But Furth, who works as a voice actor, and her husband, who had recently left a corporate job, did not have employer-provided health insurance. So her OB-GYN recommended they speak…
Read MoreLeadership group’s ‘Market 90254’ puts Hermosa Beach business on display
In their efforts to lobby city council members for measures to increase daytime foot traffic, businesses in Hermosa Beach sometimes complain of feeling hidden in plain sight. This weekend, dozens of them will have a chance to be seen, all in the same place. This Saturday, Leadership Hermosa will host Market 90254, a gathering…
Read MoreAbout Town in Hermosa Beach: Patrick Swayze’s Spyder board goes for $64,000 at fundraiser
Spyder board brings big haul If you want the ultimate ride, you’ve got be willing to pay the ultimate price. And if you want a Patrick Swayze-owned surfboard, you’d better be prepared to shell out serious cash. A board shaped by Spyder Surfboards founder Dennis Jarvis for the “Point Break” star sold for $64,000 last…
Read MoreReward offered in 2009 killing of Palos Verdes Estates attorney
Last Saturday would have been the 33rd wedding anniversary of Jeffrey and Cheryl Tidus. But instead of looking for a gift, Cheryl is looking for answers. Jeffrey Tidus was killed more than seven years ago, shot once in the back of the head at his Rolling Hills Estates home. Unable to find a suspect…
Read MoreFundraiser aims to support Young at Art in Hermosa Beach
Inspired by American Indians, artist Dale Chihuly began making “pick-up drawings” on blown glass cylinders in 1975. More than 40 years later, smaller hands in Hermosa are doing the same thing. The project has been among the most popular selections this year for Young at Art, the South Bay nonprofit program that teaches elementary and…
Read More‘Bicycle Diaries’ selected for Manhattan Beach Library read
David Byrne never quite makes it to Manhattan Beach in “Bicycle Diaries,” the Talking Heads frontman’s two-wheeled travelogue. But if he were to peddle by the library Saturday afternoon, he probably could not help but smile. In honor of the second anniversary of much-lauded redesign, the Manhattan Beach Library will host a Bike Rally…
Read MoreHermosa Beach votes to contract with LA County Fire
After more than 107 years of service, the Hermosa Beach Fire Department will soon be no more. Starting some time next year, fire services in Hermosa Beach will be provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. In a decision described as both difficult and historic, the City Council voted 5-0 at its Tuesday night meeting…
Read MoreSavior or Albatross? Proposed desalination plant could decrease South Bay’s dependence on imported water, but has raised environmental concerns
In April 2015, the City of Manhattan Beach made a sudden announcement that shook the twin pastoral pillars of suburbia, the automobile and lawn. Effective immediately, residents could not wash their cars at home, and instead had to take them to a commercial car wash. Watering lawns was permitted only on one designated day a…
Read MoreGeorge Jung of ‘Blow’ fame returns to South Bay’s Tonsorial Parlor for one more cut
George Jung surveyed the photographs on the wall. They had been rehung just as they were back in 1968. Did they bring back memories? “I’m quite familiar with those. I probably snorted coke off of every one of them,” Jung said with laugh. Jung, the former Manhattan Beach cocaine smuggler and subject of the…
Read MoreBest server (male): Chris Sutter, Old Venice
No matter how busy he gets, server Chris Sutter always has a smile on his face. Part of it comes from the fact that he walks to work each day. And it helps that Old Venice, the restaurant where he plies his trade, is so close to the Pacific Ocean that he can feel the…
Read MoreBest bartender: JD Ciasulli (male) and Abby Kahan (female), Palmilla
JD Ciasulli and Abby Kahan have been at Palmilla since it opened in fall 2011. In that time, craft cocktails have exploded in popularity, with bartenders across the country donning suspenders and churning out elaborate libations. The trend has had its own iteration in Hermosa Beach. On the one hand, Palmilla’s high-concept Mexican fare is…
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