Redondo delays campus classes until Jan. 4
The Redondo Beach Unified School District (RBUSD) has postponed the planned reopening of some classrooms from next week to Jan. 4. The district received a TK-2 waiver — an exemption that allows students in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, first, and second grades to return to in-person learning — from the L.A. County Department of Health on […]
Surfing with Santa through four, surf stoked decades
In 1978, retired lifeguard Paul Mattheson brought the cartoon character Surfing Santa to life by paddling out at the Hermosa Beach pier in a wool Santa Suit. When the suit got wet, he almost drowned. The following year, Body Glove made Santa a red and white, neoprene wetsuit, which Matthies surfed in for Easy Readers […]
Calendar: 12-10-2020
Beach Cities Toy Drive unWrapping party The 28th annual Beach Cities Toy Drive continues through December 19. Residents are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the Hermosa Beach or Manhattan Beach police and fire departments. Or to the toy drive-thru in the Hermosa Beach City Hall Parking lot Dec. 5 through Dec. 12, between […]
Sandbox: An inconvenient truth
I am writing because I believe firm action to stop Manhattan Beach from allowing takeout diners to subvert the county Covid health orders and undermine public safety during a raging pandemic (“Manhattan Beach to allow outdoor dining for to-go orders,” ERNews). Manhattan Beach is among the growing number of cities that don’t provide email addresses […]
ALL BALL: Sports Rams, Goff ride the schizophrenic see-saw, again
The split-personality Rams did it again. But this time it was the good Rams that showed up and pounded the Arizona Cardinals 38-28. The win not only knocked the Cardinals out of playoff contention for all practical purposes with a 6-6 record, but lifted the Rams back into first place in the NFC West […]
Outdoor dining ban ‘arbitrary,’ judge says in Pyrrhic victory for restaurants
Local restaurateurs received a win Tuesday morning when a Los Angeles County Supreme Court judge ruled against the County’s outdoor dining ban, calling it “arbitrary,” and questioning why the County hadn’t presented evidence to justify the closings. “By failing to weigh the benefits of an outdoor dining restriction against its costs, the County acted arbitrarily […]
MBUSD welcomes youngest students back to campus
Tuesday was the first day of school at Pennekamp Elementary, and Principal Karina Gerger noticed something was very different than years past. It wasn’t the fact that all the kids wore masks, though of course that was different. It wasn’t even the plexiglass-equipped desks and the handwashing stations in every classroom, though that too […]
COVID-19: City finds loophole in County ban on outdoor dining
Manhattan Beach last Thursday answered the pleas of downtown restaurant owners and announced they would be allowed to “repurpose” their outdoor dining areas to allow public seating for diners with take-out orders. Restaurant service at the dining area tables would not be allowed. The action came in the face of a new order by […]
COVID-19: MBMS is shut down due to COVID
The five elementary schools of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District welcomed back their youngest students this week. But the Manhattan Beach Middle School’s program for high needs students was shut down due to three COVID-19 cases. On Sunday, MBUSD sent out a letter to parents with kids at MBMS informing them that three […]
LEGAL AFFAIRS: Former MBFD chief Daryn Drum fights to clear his name
Former Manhattan Beach Fire Department Chief Daryn Drum is appealing the city’s termination of his contract over his alleged use of insensitive language shortly after Black Lives Matters protests erupted nationally early last summer. The first appeal hearing, scheduled for December 3, was postponed when attorneys representing the city declined an Easy Reader request […]
Outfall Serenader Bob White: what makes Manhattan special
[Editor’s note: The City Council last month recognized 93-year-old Bob White, the founder of the Hyperion Outfall Serenaders, the official band of Manhattan Beach. Following are the remarks made on that occasion by Councilperson Steve Napolitano, a longtime friend of the White family.] by Steve Napolitano This year we are celebrating the 100th […]
4 Signs You Might Be Experiencing Low Testosterone
Testosterone is known as the primary sex hormone in males (though it’s also present in women). It plays a key role in the development of male reproductive parts, as well as muscle, bone mass, and even hair. And as it declines, it impacts men in a variety of ways. Do you know the signs and […]
Letters to the Editor 12-10-2020
The new red line Dear ER: Daring to question the Governor Gavin Newsom’s and Barbara Ferrer’s lockdowns is a red line not to be crossed for Manhattan Beach Council Members Hildy Stern and Nancy Hersman. (“The Great Hadley Debate,” Easy Reader, November 29, 2020). Stern is adamant that such thoughts are dangerous: “We have the […]
CrossFit fight with council gets personal
CrossFit Horsepower gym co-owner Jed Sanford has alleged Mayor Justin Massey and Council Member Stacey Armato voted illegally to appeal a recent judicial ruling. That ruling invalidated the council’s September 2018 designation of the CrossFit Horsepower gym as a “public nuisance.” The ruling led to the gym’s closing. Massey and Armato were joined by […]
“Yalda. A Night for Forgiveness” – Oh what a night! [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Yalda. A Night for Forgiveness,” masterfully written and directed by Massoud Bakhshi, is beyond imagination. Focusing on the aspect of Sharia law that legally sanctions “an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth,” Bakhshi brings us onto the set of “Joy of Forgiveness,” a reality show broadcast live that brings together a condemned […]
Hudson rises again, new restaurants, temporary spaces become permanent, and other dining news
Resurrection Of A Hangout: One of the big news items of the week was the sale of Redondo’s Hudson House to Jessica LoIbarra and her husband Bernard, who owned A Basq Kitchen during its multi-year run on the International Boardwalk. You might therefore expect to see Basque items on the menu at their new venture, […]