MANHATTAN BEACH PARKING: Rates, permits, citations will be increased, meters replaced
by Mark McDermott During the course of a six-hour meeting that ran til midnight, the Manhattan Beach City Council grappled with several matters, in particular the 432 fees the City charges for everything from block parties to solar permitting. But mainly, they talked about parking, in nearly every way possible. Under consideration were downtown parking […]
MB COSTA CHEER: Mira Costa Cheer wins first ever CIF state championship
by Mark McDermott The Mira Costa High School Cheer team made history earlier this year. They won the first-ever CIF state-level championship on February 1, triumphing over 21 other elite cheer teams competing in the invitational tournament. Coach Travis Neese said the team’s accomplishment was particularly meaningful because of its historical significance. “This was the […]
REAL ESTATE: Manhattan Beach purchases $13 million downtown property
by Mark McDermott The City of Manhattan Beach has purchased the former U.S. Bank site, located in the middle of downtown adjacent to Von’s, for $13 million. The purchase was approved by the Council at its April 1 meeting and sale closed April 15. City Manager Talyn Mirzakhanian told the council the site’s location, both […]
HOUSING CRISIS: Manhattan City Council reluctantly adds state-imposed housing codes
by Mark McDermott Over the past month the City Council has twice deliberated over a set of five state-imposed code amendments that will streamline processes related to affordable housing projects, accessory dwelling units, Density Bonus waivers, and the easing of lot consolidation restrictions in order to encourage more residential building. The code-amending ordinances were a […]
MBUSD orchestras awarded top honors
by Mark McDermott The Manhattan Beach Middle School and Mira Costa High School orchestras were honored last week for their performances at the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association music festival at Santa Ana High School. The Chamber Orchestra and String Ensemble from MBMS and the Philharmonic, Sinfonietta, Symphony, and Chamber Orchestras from Mira […]
CITY COUNCIL: Hyperion Outfall Serenaders honored, 50 years as City of MB’s official band
by Mark McDermott At the beginning of Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Mayor Amy Howorth recalled the moment she first heard the official band of Manhattan Beach. Twenty-eight years ago, the Howorth family had newly arrived in town. It was a Saturday morning in October, and Howorth was exhausted. She and her husband and two […]
OCEAN EMERGENCY: Dolphins, other marine wildlife suffering demonic acid poisoning
by Mark McDermott A toxic algal bloom in local ocean waters is causing a wave of sickness and death among dolphins, sea lions, and other marine wildlife. The event, also known as a red tide, is causing many of the animals to wash up in Manhattan Beach. Biologist Eric Martin, co-director of the Roundhouse Aquarium, […]
ALLISON BATH: Ercole’s bartender fights cancer with community’s help
by Mark McDermott Last October, when Allison Bath learned about her stage four cancer diagnosis, she was sitting at a booth in Ercole’s Bar & Grill. Bath has been a bartender at Erocle’s for the past 13 years. Surrounded by co-workers and patrons, she broke down in tears as she hung up the phone with […]
Big Waves, Big Screen, Bo Bridges goes bigtime at Cosm
by Mark McDermott It began, like so many harrowing adventures do, with a small group of party crashers. Action photographer Bo Bridges, who is based in Manhattan Beach but spans the globe for photo shoots, was in Salt Lake City for the 2023 NBA All-Star game. Bridges was at the event mainly for fun. His […]
Mira Costa, Redondo square off Saturday enroute to California State Basketball Championships
Mira Costa falls short of CIF sectional title, stifles Crean Lutheran in State tourney opener UPDATE, March 7: Redondo Union will have home court advantage against Mira Costa in the the rival teams’ post season quest for the CIF State Boys Basketball Championships on Saturday March 8, starting at 7 p.m. In the regular season, […]
BOYS BASKETBALL: Mira Costa falls just short of CIF sectional title, stifles Crean Lutheran in State tourney opener
by Mark McDermott By the time they’d arrived at the championship game last Saturday, the Mira Costa Boys Basketball team had wreaked a wide swath of havoc in a furious march through the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs. They’d blown out two teams by over 20 points and two others more than ten. The […]
THE WARRIOR KID: The continuing adventures of Kyle Lu, NBA wiz kid
by Mark McDermott Kyle Lu knew about the uncertain nature of the gig when he got it. A lot of turnover occurs within the National Basketball Association. Players get traded, coaches get fired, and management changes. As an 11-year-old kid from Manhattan Beach with only a little over a year under his belt working for […]
Rising from the Ashes: How the local real estate community is helping establish Pali South
by Mark McDermott Annie Hartley loved the house the moment she stepped inside. She is a Realtor in Manhattan Beach, so Hartley has developed a sixth sense about certain homes, kind of like how a sommelier picks up notes in a glass of wine that most people do not. It begins with where the house […]
EDUCATION: MBUSD adds two integrated ethnic studies courses
by Mark McDermott The Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Education is preparing to offer two new courses for the 2025-26 school year that would each meet the state of California’s legally mandated ethnic studies requirements. A yearlong course, titled “U.S. History: Diversity and Cultural Studies,” would expand on a pilot course offered this […]
PUBLIC ART: A shark finally finds a home at Manhattan Beach City Hall
by Mark McDermott It was the shark that kept resurfacing, in search of a place to call home. And on Tuesday night, on the cusp of once again being turned away, the City Council finally agreed in a 3-2 vote to allow the shark to reside at the Civic Center parking lot. The saga of […]
Manhattan Beach About Town: Moffett legacy, longstanding businesses
The Moffiett legacy Tom Moffett, the producer of the Manhattan Beach holiday fireworks show, was recognized by the City Council on Tuesday night. Moffet took over the fireworks show after the passing of his father, Pete, who founded the beloved holiday event four decades ago. “Many of us who have lived in the community can […]