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Hermosa Beach News for 2006

Public to be heard on new traffic signal proposal - It looks as though the public will have a chance to voice its opinion on whether owners of the Hermosa Pavilion should install a traffic signal on Pacific Coast Highway at 16th Street as the council agreed last week to send the matter to the Public Works Commission.  The commission’s vote serves as a recommendation to the council which reserves final judgment on any matter acted on by the city’s commissions. The council could see this issue again as soon as next month.

Hermosa man is sentenced to eight years - A Torrance Superior Court judge sentenced a Hermosa Beach man to eight years in prison Tuesday after he accepted a plea deal with prosecutors last month, according to the Torrance criminal department.  Charles Weinberg, 59, was sentenced by Judge William Hollingsworth for pleading guilty to three felony charges and one misdemeanor charge. Weinberg actually pleaded guilty Dec. 21 to oral copulation, continual sexual abuse of a minor and lewd conduct with a minor (all felonies), and annoying or molesting a child (a misdemeanor).

HB City Council summary - Taxicab rate - The Hermosa Beach City Council voted to increase the city’s base taxicab rate, which went into effect Jan. 10.  The four taxicab companies that have franchise agreements with the city raised their base rate from $2 to $2.20. The franchise agreement set a fare rate that was considered the standard used throughout Los Angeles County when the franchise agreements were approved in 2003. It is the first rate increase since the franchise was initially approved in 2002.  The rates have also been approved in Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, West Hollywood and the city of Los Angeles.

Police report a calm New Year’s Eve on the plaza - A throng of revelers, both visitors and residents alike, once again made their way into downtown Hermosa Beach this year for the annual New Year’s Eve celebration on the pier plaza where police reported no serious injuries, no major arrests or major incidents and said violations related to public consumption of alcohol continued to decline. 

Methamphetamine lab found, local man and woman still in H.B. jail - A man and woman are still in custody at the Hermosa Beach jail after being arrested in connection with what police found inside a house raided last week in the 1800 block of Pacific Coast Highway.  Hermosa Beach officers arrested Teresa Tarin, 28, and Oscar Salsito, 29, Dec. 20 and charged them with numerous violations including cultivating marijuana, possessing “precursors” to manufacturing methamphetamines and hashish, possession of methamphetamines and possession for sale of marijuana.

Several candidates get in line for possible election - With a vacancy still left on the Hermosa Beach City Council and the municipality now taking applications for a possible appointment to the five-member body, some candidates who ran in the Nov. 8 election have decided to file their paperwork in case the council does vote to select someone at its Jan. 10 meeting.  Last week, the council voted 3-1 to postpone its decision on how to fill a vacancy on the elected group until its first meeting in January, and began taking applications from those who wish to be considered for an appointment if it does decide on such an option instead of holding a special election.

City officials host emergency town hall forum - In the hopes of informing the public about emergency preparedness and response in Hermosa Beach, city officials hosted a public forum last week in which representatives from the Fire and Police departments, the School District and the county spoke on how their agencies would react in the event of a crisis such as a natural disaster.  “Last year around this time, we started our renewal process of changing the first part of our emergency preparedness, which we completed and is called the Hazard Mitigation Plan, and that was adopted by the City Council some time ago,” said City Manager Steve Burrell at the opening of the town hall meeting.

Council mulls over what to do about open seat - With what looks to be an unexpected vacancy on the Hermosa Beach City Council, voters and city officials began voicing their opinions on how the city should handle the matter that will ultimately come down to either an appointment or a special election.  The issue surfaced last week when Howard Fishman, who won the second of three open seats on the City Council, according to unofficial election results, announced last Tuesday that he will give up his seat due to family reasons.

City to address emergency plan - As a way to address any public concerns, comments or suggestions on how Hermosa Beach would respond in the event of an emergency affecting the entire town, school, health and city officials are hosting a public meeting Dec. 14 that will take a closer look at emergency preparedness on a local level.  City Manager Steve Burrell is the moderator of the meeting that is expected to feature several speakers including representatives from the county, the local police and fire departments, the Beach Cities Health District and the School District. The speakers will talk about their roles and their preparedness, and hope to answer questions from the audience. 

Commission OKs eatery’s alcohol permit - The Hermosa Beach Planning Commission Tuesday night voted to approve an amendment to a conditional use permit for a restaurant in the city’s downtown wishing to offer its patrons hard alcohol in conjunction with an already existing permit to sell beer and wine. The amendment passed in a 3-2 vote, but under the condition that Italy’s Little Kitchen reduce its hours of operation from 2 a.m. to midnight.  Any commission vote acts only as a recommendation, and the City Council reserves final judgment on any matter that comes before one of the appointed bodies. The owners may appeal the commission decision, which would then leave the ruling in the council’s hands.

The Beach Reporter – January 19, 2006

Hermosa Beach News

Public to be heard on new traffic signal proposal (1/19)

By Whitney Youngs

It looks as though the public will have a chance to voice its opinion on whether owners of the Hermosa Pavilion should install a traffic signal on Pacific Coast Highway at 16th Street as the council agreed last week to send the matter to the Public Works Commission.

The commission’s vote serves as a recommendation to the council which reserves final judgment on any matter acted on by the city’s commissions. The council could see this issue again as soon as next month.

The “signalization” of PCH at 16th Street came before the council in early December when resident Patty Egerer drafted a letter urging it to hire an independent consultant to examine the impact it would have on the immediate area. The proposed signal would stand about 200 yards away from the intersection at Pier Avenue and PCH.

“Essentially, the engineering plans aim to convert 16th Street into a traffic artery to service the business corridor on Pacific Coast Highway,” wrote Egerer. “This will trigger the closure of the 16th Street artery, east of the highway. It is reasonable to assume as business continues to expand along Pacific Coast Highway, other neighborhoods will also require street closure.”

According to the Nov. 11, 2003, City Council meeting minutes, the five-member body unanimously voted to approve Shook Development’s request to upgrade the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and 16th Street that included a traffic signal, requiring the owners to fund the undertaking. The request was listed as an item under the agenda’s municipal matters that provides the public with a chance to address it.

“The developer has already paid for the signal and already did a traffic study,” said Councilman J.R. Reviczky. “I would not be in favor of the city paying for another traffic study. My experience with traffic studies is that they are not very accurate. I will wait to see what the Public Works Commission comes up with. There are a lot of options the city has if 16th Street becomes impacted.”

Pacific Coast Highway is under the jurisdiction of Caltrans and the Pavilion owners are awaiting its final permit from the agency before they can move forward.

“I don’t know why we didn’t wait to come up with some mitigation measures before we put in the light,” said City Councilman Sam Edgerton who would be in support of turning 16th Street into a one-way road east of the businesses located along PCH. “It’s what the neighbors want and strangely enough there hasn’t been any opposition to it yet. It’s certainly going to send more traffic up 21st Street but truth be known, 21st Street is a much wider street and actually designed to be an arterial street.”

Edgerton said that he is against funding a study relative to the signal, and felt the council voted to approve the signal without enough public input.

“It’s like the study of the obvious, to spend $20,000 to have someone tell you what you already know,” said Edgerton. “A signal is needed and it’s good for the businesses, too, so to me it’s a basic lesson in moving too quickly when you can make it right and make it a win-win.”

The city previously discussed the issue during the approval of the Hampton Inn hotel located on the east side of the highway. During that time, Caltrans did not support the addition due to concerns about the signal causing additional traffic delays. However, it later changed its mind and did support the idea as a way to improve pedestrian access and safety among drivers.

At last week’s meeting, the council received a petition from about 27 residents who live on 16th Street, who are parents of 25 children.

One of its residents, Lee Grant, wrote a letter to the council on the matter, mainly voicing his concern about an increase in use of the residential street.

“We are not arguing against the installation of a traffic light,” he wrote. “We are protesting the impact of said traffic light on 16th Street. To address these safety issues, we have petitioned you to close off 16th Street.

“We are not asking to change the nature of 16th Street. The city is seeking to do that in a very unsafe and reckless manner. Any reasonable person would see the flaws in making 16th Street a thoroughfare if all the issues are properly and fairly presented. Furthermore, to say that all residents were properly notified of the impact of a traffic light when the Pavilion project was presented is like saying all passengers knew what to expect when they bought a ticket on the Titanic.”

Members of the 24-Hour Fitness athletic club are required to pay $1 for every time they park inside the Pavilion’s structure and because of that, there has been an increase in parked cars on the east side of the highway and the immediate residential areas. Fitness club members then walk across the busy street in what some consider a dangerous crosswalk. Month-to-month memberships with the club run from about $18 to $42 each month separate from the parking fees.

“They (members) always talk about the parking fees with us but as far as 24-Hour Fitness is concerned, there is nothing we can do about it because we don’t own the Pavilion, we just lease out space,” said one employee with the Hermosa Beach club. “As far as Hermosa, people live nearby and walk or ride a bike, and that’s what a lot of them do. There is always parking on PCH and Pier Avenue, so there are other options available to them.”

Reviczky added that it’s certainly not his intention or the intention of the council overall to turn 16th Street into a major thoroughfare.

“First we need to find out what the problem is and before you know what the problem is you can’t decide on a solution,” said Reviczky. “If there is a problem when the light goes in that everyone didn’t anticipate, then we’ll take care of it. I don’t mind talking about it beforehand but no matter how much you talk about it before, you’re going to still end up talking about it afterward because most of the time what you think is going to happen doesn’t.”

The Beach Reporter – January 19, 2006

Hermosa Beach News

Hermosa man is sentenced to eight years (1/19)

By Whitney Youngs

A Torrance Superior Court judge sentenced a Hermosa Beach man to eight years in prison Tuesday after he accepted a plea deal with prosecutors last month, according to the Torrance criminal department.

Charles Weinberg, 59, was sentenced by Judge William Hollingsworth for pleading guilty to three felony charges and one misdemeanor charge. Weinberg actually pleaded guilty Dec. 21 to oral copulation, continual sexual abuse of a minor and lewd conduct with a minor (all felonies), and annoying or molesting a child (a misdemeanor).

He was arrested and initially charged with 11 felony counts ranging from oral copulation of a child, oral copulation by anesthesia or a controlled substance, and providing marijuana to a minor younger than 14 years of age and younger than 18 years of age. At that time, prosecutors said he could have faced 16 years in prison if convicted.

Hermosa Beach Police arrested Weinberg in April 2005, on numerous charges related to alleged sexual abuse of at least five children over a 25-year period with the most recent reportedly occurring April 22, 2005.

Weinberg was out on $430,000 bail. Among the five identified children, who are all residents of the local area, three were allegedly molested during a period within the statute of limitations.

According to Hermosa Beach Police Press Information Officer Paul Wolcott, the alleged molestation took place at Weinberg’s home on Manhattan Avenue in Hermosa Beach beginning in the early 1980s, and some of the minors came from broken homes. One victim told police that he was molested when he was in the fifth grade at the age of 10. The oldest victim told police he was molested at the age of 17.

Detectives believe that Weinberg befriended the children, would invite them into his home and would develop what police describe as a “...seemingly caring relationship with the children.” In most cases, police concluded that Weinberg would use marijuana with the children before sexually assaulting them.

During the police search of Weinberg’s apartment, officers discovered what appeared to be Egyptian artifacts that he allegedly looted, including antique mummified wrapping gauze, various amulets and other antiquities that may be up to 4,000 years old.

Weinberg told police that he has volunteered in the past for archaeological digs in Egypt with the University of Chicago, and admitted during questioning that he had looted artifacts from the sites. Weinberg called the items his “pocket collection.” He would find the artifacts and pocket them. He would then smuggle the items back into the United States. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is still investigating the discovery.

“We are in communication with the Egyptian consulate and they are very interested in taking a look at the items to confirm whether or not they were in fact taken illegally from Egypt,” said Virginia Kice, a spokesperson with U.S. Customs. “We will see what the next step will be. Obviously the priority now is ensuring that if they were in fact taken illegally they are returned and we will work with the U.S. Attorney’s office and with the consulate to do so. ”

The Beach Reporter – January 19, 2006

Hermosa Beach - Crime Watch (1/19)

STOLEN MARBLE. A marble stand weighing more than 100 pounds was stolen from outside a business on Pacific Coast Highway Jan. 16 between 12:30 and 4:30 p.m. The victim noticed the stand displayed outside the business’s front door and later discovered it missing.

STOLEN CELL PHONE. A cell phone valued at $70 was reportedly stolen from a car parked in the 100 block of Pacific Coast Highway between 4 and 7 p.m. Dec. 27.

STOLEN CAMERA. A camera and memory card valued at $300 was reportedly stolen in the 2000 block of Hillcrest Drive between 11:45 p.m. Dec. 31 and 3 a.m. Jan. 1. The victim told police that he went to a friend’s house and handed the camera to the friend who put it in a backpack for safekeeping. The next day the victim asked for the camera back and the friend said that the backpack had been stolen with the camera in it between the reported times. The victim does not suspect his friend in the theft.

CREDIT CARD FRAUD. A credit card belonging to a man in the 100 block of Lyndon Street was reportedly used fraudulently between Dec. 26 and Dec. 28. The victim noticed two unauthorized transactions, one for $1,555 to Circuit City and one for $30 to Dragon’s restaurant.

TOOLS STOLEN. Various construction tools were reportedly stolen from a house currently under construction in the 1200 block of Loma Drive between noon Jan. 7 and noon Jan. 8. The toolbox had been broken into Dec. 27 and again between the reported times. The burglar(s) stole a saw, hammer, a drill and miscellaneous tools all valued at $2,100.

The Beach Reporter – January 12, 2006

Hermosa Beach News

HB City Council summary (1/12)

By Whitney Youngs

Taxicab rate - The Hermosa Beach City Council voted to increase the city’s base taxicab rate, which went into effect Jan. 10.  The four taxicab companies that have franchise agreements with the city raised their base rate from $2 to $2.20. The franchise agreement set a fare rate that was considered the standard used throughout Los Angeles County when the franchise agreements were approved in 2003. It is the first rate increase since the franchise was initially approved in 2002.  The rates have also been approved in Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, West Hollywood and the city of Los Angeles.

Financial report - Hermosa Beach Finance Director Viki Copeland presented the council with a comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005. The report informs the city on the status of the city’s financial position and the results occurring over the last fiscal year.  Despite the state taking $300,000 in property taxes to balance its budget, the city’s property tax base grew by 6 percent. The BMW dealership stayed longer than the city anticipated in its budget for this fiscal year and the overall General Fund revenue grew by 7 percent.

The largest source of revenue was the property tax followed by the Utility User Tax that switched rankings with the sales tax, which is now ranked third. The Transient Occupancy Tax was 14 percent of the General Fund revenue, which has nearly doubled, in the past five years.  For the 2004-05 fiscal year, the median home price was valued at $952,000. The city saw high beach attendance of 488,200 in July 2005 and a low of 30,300 in December 2004, according to the Los Angeles County Lifeguards. The city had a General Fund surplus, which transferred $1.2 million each to the Capital Improvement Fund, the Retirement Stabilization Fund (a new account) and the city’s insurance fund.

Claims denied - The City Council also voted to deny two different claims by two individuals who are alleging violations by the Hermosa Beach Police Department.  Kurt Eisinger filed his claim Dec. 12, 2005, for an incident that occurred June 14, 2005, and is claiming that he was illegally arrested and detained.  Melissa Scheuerman filed her claim Dec. 22, 2005, for an incident that occurred on the Fourth of July in 2005; and is alleging that her civil rights were violated, and that she was falsely arrested and assaulted.  In his claim, Eisinger states that he was, “…physically removed from his home forcibly under authority of the law without just or probable cause, transported to and detained in psychiatric facilities for six days.” 

Scheuerman stated in her claim that she was a visitor in the room of a registered hotel guest on Pacific Coast Highway near First Street when Officers Lewitt and Sullivan, “…entered the motel room without knocking, yelling and announcing for everyone inside to ‘get out.’ I was told to ‘pack your stuff’ and get out,” states Scheuerman. “I left as directed and in the hallway inquired of the female officer (Sullivan) why I had been ordered out and why the occupants of the motel were being ordered out, and where they could go. At first I was told it was for ‘trespassing,’ and the officers suddenly cuffed me and took me to a police car and then to the Hermosa Beach Police station without explanation.” 

Scheuerman said she was booked for battering a police officer and being drunk in public, both charges she denies. Scheuerman said that Sullivan “violently shoved me to the floor for no justifiable reason.” She said that she was injured and required attention from the paramedics, and was later transported by officers to the emergency room after being detained.  Stitches were placed in her left cheek and she was released from the hospital. No charges were ever filed against Scheuerman, and she had since filed a complaint with the department and the FBI.

The Beach Reporter – January 12, 2006

Hermosa Beach - Crime Watch (1/12)

ASSAULT. Two men were arrested for reportedly assaulting a man outside a bar on the pier plaza Dec. 31 at 1:25 a.m. The officer reporting was flagged down by the bar’s doorman regarding the incident. The officer spoke with the victim, who suffered a chipped tooth, a laceration on the forehead and swelling to the left cheek. The victim told police he was sitting on a bench speaking with a friend when two men approached him and told him they didn’t like the way he was speaking to his friend. The victim told the men to leave and words were exchanged between the two parties.

The two men then began to strike the victim with closed fists to his upper body and head while the victim’s friend sat there. In an attempt to defend himself, the victim stood up and was then pushed to the ground where the men continued to hit him with a closed fist. The victim, who was on vacation from medical school in Boston and back in the area visiting his parents, knew the two men from high school. Two other officers located and chased the two suspects through a parking garage. The victim identified one of the men as hitting him numerous times but was not sure if the other man was involved. However, another witness did identify both men as the suspects.

STOLEN PHONE. A phone valued at $200 was reportedly stolen from inside a bar on the pier plaza Dec. 31 between 5 and 7 p.m. The victim left the phone on a table and walked away for a moment. Upon return, the victim noticed the phone missing.

GRAFITTI. A restaurant located in the 1000 block of Pacific Coast Highway was reportedly vandalized Jan. 3 between 1 and 6 a.m. An unknown person printed the line, “(expletive) you, U R closed on Monday,” on the rear wall of the business with white spray paint.

BURGLARIZED CAR. A car parked in the 200 block of 24th Street was reportedly burglarized between the hours of 11:30 p.m. Jan. 2 and 7:30 a.m. Jan. 3. Once inside the car, the victim noticed that the contents inside the glove box, storage compartment, ashtray and side door compartment had been emptied. Two gift certificates were missing, and the victim also believes that some CDs might have been stolen.

The Beach Reporter – January 6, 2006

Hermosa Beach News

Police report a calm New Year’s Eve on the plaza (1/6)

By Whitney Youngs

A throng of revelers, both visitors and residents alike, once again made their way into downtown Hermosa Beach this year for the annual New Year’s Eve celebration on the pier plaza where police reported no serious injuries, no major arrests or major incidents and said violations related to public consumption of alcohol continued to decline.  “Other than the fact that it was a change of year and the pier plaza was standing room only at midnight, it was for all intents and purposes uneventful,” said Hermosa Beach Press Information Officer Sgt. Paul Wolcott. “It was, as billed by the city, a good family-oriented event.”

Wolcott said that since the city passed a law tripling the fines for violations of possession of alcohol and consumption of alcohol in public during major holidays like New Year’s and the Fourth of July, police have seen a decrease in such cases. Police only issued six citations and made 16 arrests last year. This year, the police responded to only one party on The Strand this year, and although Wolcott didn’t have exact figures he said that very few people were arrested during this year’s event.

One of the biggest problems for the city, just like Fourth of July, is helping move attendees out of the downtown area once the festivities are over. In such instances, people have trouble hailing cabs since the demand for them is so high.  “We didn’t have a lot of incidents of public consumption or possession. Most of the people down there were with families, a couple of people were warned, but the situations didn’t rise to the necessity for citations for a couple of them. The rise in citation fines seems to have cut things significantly.”

Thousands attended the city-sponsored event where they listened to the swinging sounds of Big Band 2000 that emanated from a temporary stage erected on the plaza. Numerous people wearing festive holiday party hats and outfits danced the night away while awaiting the final countdown led by Hermosa Beach Mayor Peter Tucker with colleagues Sam Edgerton and J.R. Reviczky.  “I think it was a good night and everyone had a good time,” said Tucker. “People dancing on the plaza counted down the year with us. It was another good event for the city and the best part is to see all of the kids there having a good time, running around on the plaza, so I think it’s neat that it’s more of a family event up until about 11 p.m.”

Some members of the City Council are always on hand for the countdown to the New Year and the big band performs throughout the night from about 8 p.m. to midnight. The event costs the city an estimated $25,000 each year. The celebration has been met with great reception among residents who feel it’s an event for Hermosa Beach people.

New resident Michael Shea said it was his first time celebrating New Year’s Eve at the beach.  “What more could you ask for than to celebrate 2006 just yards from the Pacific Ocean?” he said. “This seems like a real community event and it’s nice that the city hosts this kind of thing for its residents.’

Wolcott said the chance of rain didn’t seem to deter people from attending the event.  “It didn’t look like anyone was hesitant to be there,” he added.

Melanie Harkins, from Newport Beach, was in town for the festivities, visiting friends from college and was surprised at the crowd that still managed to show up in the damp weather.  “I think this is a great way for a small little town like Hermosa Beach to ring in the New Year,” she said. “I’m shocked at how many people came out even in the rain.”

Wolcott said that the holidays were busy for the South Bay Regional DUI Task Force, which arrested more than 200 people in an effort that began before Christmas and ran through New Year’s Eve.

The Beach Reporter – January 6, 2006

Hermosa Beach News

Methamphetamine lab found, local man and woman still in H.B. jail (1/6)

By Whitney Youngs

A man and woman are still in custody at the Hermosa Beach jail after being arrested in connection with what police found inside a house raided last week in the 1800 block of Pacific Coast Highway.

Hermosa Beach officers arrested Teresa Tarin, 28, and Oscar Salsito, 29, Dec. 20 and charged them with numerous violations including cultivating marijuana, possessing “precursors” to manufacturing methamphetamines and hashish, possession of methamphetamines and possession for sale of marijuana. Tarin was denied bail since she was out on probation for similar charges while Salsito’s bail was set at $250,000.

Hermosa Beach Det. Robert Higgins said the discovery of meth labs isn’t a common occurrence but the department does, “encounter them with some frequency.”  “We had one about three months ago,” said Higgins. “This is one of the larger ones that we’ve had most recently, I’d say in the last five years.”

According to Higgins, officers, once determining a meth lab was inside the house, contacted the Department of Justice’s Hazardous Materials Clean-Up Team which specializes in confiscating chemicals used to make methamphetamines, and wore protective suits and used oxygen masks.  “The combination of the chemicals they use is like an environmental nightmare,” said Higgins.

Officers also found a couple of pounds of marijuana and a room used to grow the plant that entails an environment of bright lights and a lot of heat using electricity. The lab wasn’t in use at the time but police said it had been used in the recent past.  “There were two different hazardous conditions kind of playing off each other because the chemicals could have caused a problem with the heat that could actually create an explosion or fire,” said Higgins.

The house was searched following the detainment of the individuals who live at the house but do not own it. They were pulled over in their car around 3 a.m. near the scene. The officer who made the stop found evidence of the sale of marijuana.  “In general a lot more people are being arrested for this kind of thing,” said Higgins. “You can get the recipe for cooking small batches of meth right off the Internet, so it’s becoming a lot more common for people to cook it in their homes. We call it a bathtub lab.”

The Beach Reporter – December 22, 2005

Hermosa Beach News

Several candidates get in line for possible election (12/22)

By Whitney Youngs

With a vacancy still left on the Hermosa Beach City Council and the municipality now taking applications for a possible appointment to the five-member body, some candidates who ran in the Nov. 8 election have decided to file their paperwork in case the council does vote to select someone at its Jan. 10 meeting.

Last week, the council voted 3-1 to postpone its decision on how to fill a vacancy on the elected group until its first meeting in January, and began taking applications from those who wish to be considered for an appointment if it does decide on such an option instead of holding a special election. If the elected body deadlocks on the matter of appointment, then it will fall to a citywide election by default in accordance with California law.

The council was faced with how to fill an open seat when Howard Fishman, who won the second of three open seats on the City Council during the Nov. 8 election, announced last month that he was giving up his seat due to family reasons. The two other winners of the race, incumbents J.R. Reviczky and Keegan, were sworn into office at the Dec. 13 meeting.

Several of the candidates who ran against Fishman, Reviczky and Keegan have said they will not only file an application but also plan on running again if there is a special election.

“I will be filing an application with the city as I am just as dedicated to Hermosa Beach as I was a month ago,” said Jeff Maxwell who had the biggest campaign war chest in November. “My heart goes out to Howard and his wife, and I think the city is handling this situation the best way they know. This is a very rare situation and a good example why there needs to be five voting members on the council to get through situations like this.”

The council was informed that it had two options and had to make its decision within 30 days after the election results were certified which left it to be decided at either the Dec. 13 or Jan. 10 council meeting. If the council does decide to appoint someone, they could look to fourth-place finisher Jeff Duclos, who earned 1,807 votes.

Duclos said he will apply for the possible appointment, as he is most likely the logical choice if it does happen.  “It’s disappointing because it’s now completely out of the hands of the more than 6,000 people who voted in the election,” said Duclos on how he feels the council is handling the situation. “At this point, it doesn’t matter what I, or any other Hermosa Beach resident, prefer. My commitment to serve the community as a member of City Council remains the same. Yes, I will run.”

The council could either appoint someone with the only requirements being that they have to be a registered voter, a Hermosa Beach resident and they have to be approved by a majority vote; or leave it up to the voters again and fund a special election that would happen in June.

“Either way they decide, I am very dedicated to Hermosa Beach and will support either decision,” added Maxwell. “I am really not leaning one way or the other. I see the cost factor, but I also see why the people of Hermosa would like to have a say in their elected officials. I will proudly run for City Council in any future elections.”

According to official results, Keegan ranked first with 2,463 votes, followed by Fishman with 2,027 votes and Reviczky with 1,994 votes. A total of 4,404 votes were cast at the city’s six precincts and 1,777 votes constituted absentees out of 13,312 registered voters.

“I was planning on filing an application with the city for an appointment position,” said Sean Krajewski who also ran for council during the Nov. 8 election. “I think that the council is doing its best to fix a tragic situation that transpired when Fishman resigned and I personally think that the fourth-place person should be appointed because it will waste more money to have another election.”

Since the council did not take action on the matter in terms of selecting either option, the opportunity to hold a special election in April is no longer available. Instead the council will now have the option to hold a special election in June that is estimated to cost $42,000 compared to $47,000 it would have cost for the April election.  The council will review the applications filed before its Jan. 10 meeting and those who wish to be considered will have to file in the city clerk’s office no later than Jan. 3. The council will continue to vote with only four members until the fifth colleague is sworn in.

The Beach Reporter – December 22, 2005

Hermosa Beach News

City officials host emergency town hall forum (12/22)

By Whitney Youngs

In the hopes of informing the public about emergency preparedness and response in Hermosa Beach, city officials hosted a public forum last week in which representatives from the Fire and Police departments, the School District and the county spoke on how their agencies would react in the event of a crisis such as a natural disaster.

“Last year around this time, we started our renewal process of changing the first part of our emergency preparedness, which we completed and is called the Hazard Mitigation Plan, and that was adopted by the City Council some time ago,” said City Manager Steve Burrell at the opening of the town hall meeting. “Our operation plan is in its draft form now. There will be more added to it and so the purpose of this meeting is to explain it all.”

The Hermosa Beach City Council passed a resolution last year on the city’s Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan that is the city’s federally mandated plan allowing it to receive funding from federal agencies such as FEMA.

Hermosa Beach Fire Chief Russ Tingley has been updating an internal emergency operations plan that is now in its draft form by working with a team that consists of representatives from the Police Department, Planning Commission, Public Works Department and the Office of Disaster Management of Area “G” of Los Angeles County, a region that includes the cities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Torrance. The biggest natural disaster facing the South Bay is an earthquake, but unlike tornadoes or hurricanes, earthquakes arrive without warning.

Burrell moderated the Dec. 14 evening meeting inside the council chambers that included presentations from a group of individuals including Hermosa Beach Police Chief Mike Lavin and Tingley, along with representatives from the Hermosa Beach School District and the Beach Cities Health District.  “We’ve assembled a group of people who are experts on a particular subject matter,” added Burrell. “Our idea is to do this on a periodic basis, probably once a year, and cover different kinds of subjects as we go along with the overall goal of making certain that everyone is able to be prepared for three or four days by ourselves because that’s what’s basically going to have to happen.”

In 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency listed the top three disasters facing the United States as terrorists attacking New York City, the flooding of New Orleans from a hurricane and a large earthquake hitting San Francisco. Among FEMA’s top 10 natural disasters prior to Hurricane Katrina, the Northridge earthquake of 1994 ranks the highest in terms of relief costs that totaled nearly $7 billion from the president’s Disaster Relief Fund.

County official Mike Martinet, the Area “G” disaster coordinator, spoke first and said part of his role is assisting cities within the South Bay with disaster training and planning.  “In California for about 10 years, we have had a statewide emergency management system and now large corporations are using it because they know that’s the easiest way to interface with fire, police, government and so on…,” said Martinet.  “Now that the federal government has gotten into the picture, after 9/11, it thought it needed a system, too, and we are fortunate because it was modeled after the California system. The bottom line is that we have ways to manage disasters, we are organized, and we believe that we are far better organized than they were in Louisiana and Mississippi. However, if we have an event the size and scope of Katrina, y’all are going to be on your own for days.”

Martinet said that if a big earthquake did damage comparable to that of Katrina minus the water, pipes that are a part of the area’s three aqueducts that all cross the San Andreas Fault at some point could break and people would be without water.  “There simply aren’t enough government employees, much less enough police and fire officers to take care of everybody,” added Martinet.

“They are going to go to the worst situations and help those people who are most desperately in need of help, and that is not going to include people who are just thirsty and hungry. People need to get this message and it’s a hard message to get across. People have to be prepared.”

One question posed was if the city has any kind of plan for all of the animals in town in the event of a disaster like an earthquake.  “We have an Area ‘G’ veterinary disaster team, about 60 volunteers, that can be activated by local police or county animal control,” said Martinet. “So, that is one of things we have in place that is right here in the South Bay.”

Lavin spoke next about the responsibilities of the Police Department and touched upon the basic mission, which is to provide uniformed police assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  “We are in a pretty good mode for either small disasters or emergencies on a regular basis because that is something we just do all the time,” said Lavin.

Lavin said that the department maintains good relationships with nearby departments in cases when mutual aid is needed but also one with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department that he considers the department’s “big brother.”  “The city of Hermosa Beach is part of a four-city dispatch center that is located in the city of Hawthorne,” said Lavin about a network shared with Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne and Gardena that has the capacity to tap into communications with agencies like the Coast Guard in the case of an emergency.

Tingley spoke on the inner workings of the city’s Fire Department. “This year in our budget we have included $50,000 worth of upgrades to our emergency operations center,” said Tingley. “We are also recipients of some federal grant money ($170,000) that we will spend on telecommunications for interoperability and those items would include mobile data computers, handheld radios and portable radios. Last year, we received $32,000 worth of personal protective equipment for both our police and fire. ”

The Fire Department is updating the city’s emergency operation plan and a group of South Bay fire chiefs are working together on a tsunami plan as a way to notify residents uniformly with messages on where to go and what to do.

One question asked was what kind of response does the city have in place for a flu outbreak or something to that effect, and Tingley said that that kind of scenario is a component of the second volume of the city’s emergency operations plan that the department is currently working on now. Although he said that no plan is in place at the moment, the city would follow guidelines established by the county until the plan is completed.

According to Martinet, the county is currently working on plans for mass distribution of medication, setting up regional points of distribution for it and has increased monitoring of such cases. Martinet said it would be a response mainly from health officials working for Los Angeles County and less of a response would come from the city, and that a group called the Beach Cities Reserve Medical Corps would help in putting such plans into motion. Martinet also added that the best choices for getting information on a portable radio in the event of a disaster are KFWB (980) or KNX (1070).

Carol Harshman of Emergency Planning Consultants based in San Diego has been working with the city in updating its emergency operation plan and the hazards mitigation plan.  “The operation plan is very important because it helps the city figure out how it is going to work as a citywide organization in a disaster situation,” said Harshman.

Deborah Nobles, a risk management consultant for the Hermosa Beach School District, appeared on behalf of the administration which was in attendance at a School Board meeting scheduled on the same evening.  “The School District has the ability to communicate directly with the Police and Fire departments in the event of an emergency,” said Nobles. “Students will be kept at school in the event of an emergency and supervised during that time, depending on what kind of direction they get from Fire and Police, if necessary, and this is how they will handle student release.”

The staff and faculty’s first priority is with the students, and they are prepared for various scenarios through the practice of emergency drills.  “They know they are not to anticipate help for 72 hours,” added Nobles. “Each of the school’s disaster plan is updated annually so that every new teacher knows what their responsibilities are at the beginning of the year.”

Stacy Wyatt, a coordinator with a branch of the Beach Cities Health District called the Beach Cities Medical Reserve Corps, also addressed the public. The corps is a volunteer unit that is supported by the Department of Human and Human Services and the Office of the Surgeon General that augment medical services during an emergency in Hermosa, Manhattan and Redondo Beach.  “We currently have about 95 volunteers, most of whom are nurses who are all medical or mental health professionals,” said Wyatt. “Our program has three priorities. The first is supplementing the medical services, the second is providing health education services in the community and the third is promoting emergency preparedness.”

One way that the corps does this is by providing emergency medical supply kits for $42 that provide items for two people for three days.  “For us it doesn’t matter where you get your kit but just that you have one; it’s all about taking that step,” added Wyatt. “If we can help you do that, we want to.”

City Councilman J.R. Reviczky who attended the meeting ended the session with a few comments on the importance of emergency preparedness.  “Disaster preparedness is one of the things that I’ve been very keen on,” he said. “I’d like to continue these forums and do so on specific topics.”

The Beach Reporter – December 1, 2005

Hermosa Beach News

Council mulls over what to do about open seat (12/1)

By Whitney Youngs

With what looks to be an unexpected vacancy on the Hermosa Beach City Council, voters and city officials began voicing their opinions on how the city should handle the matter that will ultimately come down to either an appointment or a special election.

The issue surfaced last week when Howard Fishman, who won the second of three open seats on the City Council, according to unofficial election results, announced last Tuesday that he will give up his seat due to family reasons. The two other winners of the Nov. 8 election are incumbents J.R. Reviczky and Michael Keegan, also according to unofficial results.  “I have enough trust and confidence in the four of the council members to make a decision that they feel is in the best interest of the community,” said Fishman. “I really don’t have a position one way or the other, other than that I trust they will do the right thing.”

According to the unofficial results of Nov. 28, Keegan still ranked first with 2,463 votes (about 18 percent), followed by Fishman with 2,027 votes (nearly 15 percent) and Reviczky with 1,994 votes (14.6 percent).

“My position is that I would never appoint anyone to the City Council in this instance besides the fourth-place finisher,” said City Councilman Sam Edgerton. “Because we just held a City Council election less than one month ago, I do not think that another election is necessary … I have heard the argument that we should hold another election to determine the second-place finisher because some people claim that their votes would be different if the second-place finisher, Howard Fishman, was not on the ballot. The fact that they and I would have voted differently is certainly true, but to eliminate the guesswork under that scenario, you would make everyone run again, including the first- and third-place finishers.

“If an Olympic medallist like Jim Thorpe is tragically disqualified under then-existing rules, you don’t replay the qualifiers or the finals to the 440, the decathlon and the 100-yard dash. The medal goes to the next in order,” added Edgerton. “The public sentiment that I am hearing is very strong, stating that we should take the next in order and knock off the politics. If we cannot agree, which may unfortunately happen, we will continue to be a four-person council for at least six months and spend needless money on what is likely to be the same result.”

The council must decide on one of two options within 30 days of the results being certified, which, according to City Manager Steve Burrell, could be voted on at the council’s Dec. 13 meeting or its Jan. 10 meeting.  “If they make the decision to have a special election on Dec. 13, they would have the election in April,” said Burrell. “If they decide to have a special election on Jan. 10, that would be mean the election would take place on the primary date in June.”

The second option would be that the council could vote to appoint any person with the only requirement being that he or she is a Hermosa Beach resident and that the appointment would be for the full four-year term. The council would not be able to appoint someone temporarily, for instance, for six months or two years.

“I’m going to evaluate our options, but off the cuff I think it’s a long appointment and that is concerning because it gives that someone an impression of incumbency,” said Keegan. “By the time that person runs again four years from now, people will think they were elected. Voters have short memories. I always like to elect my officials and I think it’s wrong to put the power of appointment into our hands. I’m a firm believer in the vote of the people. However, I still don’t know how I will vote because I don’t have all of the information in front of me.”

As of press time, the Los Angeles County Registrar/Recorder’s Office has yet to certify the election results; however, Keegan and Reviczky are expected to be sworn in at the council’s Dec. 13 meeting. Fishman would have filled Art Yoon’s seat. Yoon decided not to run again in order to complete his MBA.

“My thoughts are with the Fishman family,” said the recently retired councilman Yoon. “I am not interested in discussing succession scenarios. Obviously, however, that will be a vital matter for the city in the near future. Our council will have to operate a man down at least for a short while, and it is my sincere hope that we will rally as a city for the Fishmans and this council as we get through this period of uncertainty. I trust that even with this difficult situation that Mayor Tucker and the council will find a way to manage our city.”

If the council does decide to appoint someone, they could look to the unofficial fourth-place winner, Jeff Duclos, who earned 1,807 votes (about 13.3 percent) who was followed by Patrick “Kit” Bobko who earned 1,367 votes (about 10 percent).  “I would support a special election because the vacancy is for a full four-year term, and residents and business people may want to reconsider their voting options regarding the selection of only one candidate,” said Carla Merriman, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce.

Interestingly enough, Edgerton who supports putting Duclos, a registered Democrat, in office is a Republican while Keegan who is leaning toward a special election is a Democrat.  “I think it gives you hints on people’s stances - whether they are conservative or more liberal,” said Keegan on how the party affiliations play into local politics.

If the council votes to hold a special election, it could possibly do so by mail ballots or by organizing local precincts. Hermosa Beach Mayor Peter Tucker said that he has heard a special election could cost between $30,000 and $50,000.  “I am getting input from voters that is about 50 percent either way, some want an appointment and some want an election,” said Tucker. “It’s going to be a tough call and the cost for an election is kind of expensive for us at the moment. I’m not sure what I will do until I know what we can do. My concern is sitting up there with four people. We don’t have any controversial issues at the moment, but if we have one, it could end up a 2-2 vote and the city could sit at a standstill. We are in contract negotiations with two of our bargaining units so that concerns me as well.”

Until a new member is voted in, the council will only have four members who will vote on formal agenda items in which some issues could possibly end in deadlocks.  “I will vote to take applications for the position,” said Reviczky about his intention at the Dec. 13 meeting. “I will decide what I will do at the January meeting after I see the applications.”

The Beach Reporter – December 1, 2005

Hermosa Beach News

City to address emergency plan (12/1)

By Whitney Youngs

As a way to address any public concerns, comments or suggestions on how Hermosa Beach would respond in the event of an emergency affecting the entire town, school, health and city officials are hosting a public meeting Dec. 14 that will take a closer look at emergency preparedness on a local level.

City Manager Steve Burrell is the moderator of the meeting that is expected to feature several speakers including representatives from the county, the local police and fire departments, the Beach Cities Health District and the School District. The speakers will talk about their roles and their preparedness, and hope to answer questions from the audience.  “This is open to the public and we would really like as many residents to come as they can,” said Burrell. “A lot of cities have been doing this, and I think everyone is concerned and interested in making sure that cities can develop a confidence level among its residents so that if anything happened, people would know how to act and to be prepared.”

In 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency listed the top three disasters facing the United States as terrorists attacking New York City, the flooding of New Orleans from a hurricane and an large earthquake hitting San Francisco. Among FEMA’s top 10 natural disasters prior to Hurricane Katrina, the Northridge earthquake of 1994 ranks the highest in terms of relief costs that totaled nearly $7 billion from the president’s Disaster Relief Fund.

Burrell said the biggest area of improvement comes in the form of communications out in the field and between different organizations during a crisis.  “Communications, because it is getting better and this is a result of what they call innerconnectability, have created a lot easier ways for us to communicate compared to what we have been able to do in the past,” added Burrell. “But still it’s one of those serious issues because as a city you can become isolated when these things first happen. That’s partly why we want to explain to everyone what we, as a city, have prepared.”

According to the Fire Department, the Hermosa Beach City Council passed a resolution last year on the city’s Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan that is the city’s federally mandated plan allowing it to receive funding from federal agencies such as FEMA.  Fire Chief Russ Tingley has been updating an internal emergency operations plan that is now in its draft form by working with a team that consists of representatives from the Police Department, Planning Commission, Public Works Department and the Office of Disaster Management of Area “G” of Los Angeles County, a region that includes the cities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Torrance.

The biggest natural disaster facing the South Bay is an earthquake but unlike tornadoes or hurricanes, earthquakes arrive without any warning.  “What one of our plans looks at is our vulnerability and risk-assessment within the city,” said Tingley. “We have concentrated more on natural hazards than terrorist attacks, being a small town, because I think that is where most of our effort needs to go.”

Tingley is expected to speak at the meeting, and will talk about the department’s responsibilities and the resources afforded to them. The Fire Department already has mutual aid operations in place and aid is based on the kind of disaster.  “It seemed after Katrina in New Orleans there was an expectation as to what the government can and can’t do,” explained Burrell. “We want to make certain that our residents are prepared and are able to deal with these things as much as they can themselves.”

Police Chief Mike Lavin is also expected to speak, also addressing his department’s responsibilities and resources. Area “G” Coordinator Mike Martinet, city-hired emergency planning consultant Carolyn Harshman, Hermosa Beach School District Superintendent Sharon McClain and the Beach Cities Health District’s Stacy Wyatt are all scheduled to speak at the meeting as well.

The discussion forum is slated for Wednesday, Dec. 14, in the council chambers at 7 p.m. and will air on a local channel on Adelphia Cable.

The Beach Reporter – November 17, 2005 

Hermosa Beach News

Commission OKs eatery’s alcohol permit (11/17)

By Whitney Youngs

The Hermosa Beach Planning Commission Tuesday night voted to approve an amendment to a conditional use permit for a restaurant in the city’s downtown wishing to offer its patrons hard alcohol in conjunction with an already existing permit to sell beer and wine. The amendment passed in a 3-2 vote, but under the condition that Italy’s Little Kitchen reduce its hours of operation from 2 a.m. to midnight.

Any commission vote acts only as a recommendation, and the City Council reserves final judgment on any matter that comes before one of the appointed bodies. The owners may appeal the commission decision, which would then leave the ruling in the council’s hands.

Although Commissioners Sam Perrotti and Langley Kersenboom favored approving the alcohol license, they did not support reducing the hours of the business.  “I felt the existing 2 a.m. time might be a little too late but on the other hand I think that people are eating later,” said Perrotti who favored a 1 a.m. closing time. “It’s a smaller restaurant, it hasn’t had any problems and doesn’t have live entertainment like the other restaurants in the downtown, so I didn’t see it as being problematic.”

The owners of Italy’s Little Kitchen restaurant located at the corner of Hermosa and Pier avenues requested the change to its establishment that is approximately 1,550 square feet.  “The Planning Commission granted a Conditional Use Permit in 1995 for on-sale beer and wine in conjunction with a southwestern-style restaurant,” stated Senior Planner Ken Robertson in his staff report. “The CUP does not include live entertainment and the current allowed hours of operation are from 8 to 2 a.m.”

The owners proposed to slightly change the interior of the restaurant’s floor plan by adding a small bar area with four seats near the entrance of the business that would replace one dining table. The restaurant operates strictly as such with little room for dancing or live entertainment. The city’s Community Development Department conducted a series of inspections of downtown bars and restaurants from December 2003 to August 2004 and no CUP violations were reported for Italy’s Little Kitchen. 

“The City Council recently imposed a more restrictive closing time of midnight for a similar request for Mediterraneo restaurant, when it requested on-sale general alcohol, and the commission recently denied a requested amendment to change the closing time to 2 a.m.,” added Robertson. “The applicant has appealed, and the council is scheduled to hear the matter in February 2006. However, Mediterraneo also includes live entertainment in its CUP and is located west of Hermosa council is scheduled to hear the matter in February 2006. However, Mediterraneo also includes live entertainment in its CUP and is located west of Hermosa Avenue.”

According to a survey completed by the Community Development Department in 2000, the city noted that Hermosa Beach has 42 businesses in the downtown area that offer alcohol, including those that only sell beer and wine. Those establishments that now sell full alcohol would increase from 23 to 24 and those that offer just beer and wine would drop from 19 to 18, if the commission’s ruling for Italy’s Little Kitchen is upheld by the City Council. Avenue.”

The Beach Reporter - February 3, 2005

Hermosa Beach News

Annual police report cites 2004 crime stats (2/3)

By Whitney Youngs

According to Hermosa Beach's annual statistical report for 2004, major crime in most categories exhibited a downward direction compared to 2003, but just like in 2003, there was a continued upward trend in the category of the number of adults arrested. 

According to the report, of the major crimes reported - murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft and auto theft - the police documented 714 crimes in 2004 compared to 752 crimes reported in 2003.

"It's always been described to me over the years that our crime rate is somewhat flat and I think this year's report is still somewhat characteristic of that," said Hermosa Beach Police Chief Mike Lavin. "We are up in a few categories, we are down in a few others. There are no real significant changes."

Police reported no murders this year compared to one last year while sex crimes declined from 11 cases in 2003 to seven cases in 2004.

The murder reported in 2003 was that of Hermosa Beach resident Joel Bues, 25, who was killed in his car at the intersection of Pier Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway in March 2003 at approximately 12:45 a.m.

Bues was shot to death while driving his BMW, which he pulled up to a red light at the intersection in the outside left-hand turning lane. Police were never sure if the shooting was a random act of violence or if Bues knew the suspect.

According to the report, robbery rose slightly with 20 cases reported in 2004 compared to 13 in 2003.

Assaults increased by only three cases from 140 in 2003 to 143 in 2004. On the other hand, burglary reports declined by three cases from 143 in 2003 to 140 in 2004.

Theft, which includes grand and petty thefts, and auto theft also declined in 2004. In the area of theft, police reported 388 cases in 2003 compared to 359 in 2004; and in auto thefts, police had reported 80 in 2002 and 56 in 2003, which are both up from 2004's 45 reported cases. DUI reports also decreased from 285 in 2003 to 164 in 2004.

"I not sure exactly why we have seen a drop in DUIs," said Lavin. "We still participate with the South Bay DUI Task Force which deploys every month. In addition to that, we are still out there doing our own thing."

Police continued arresting more people this year with 1,388 adults arrested. The figure continues to grow each year, setting new records in more than a decade. Police arrested 1,315 adults in 2003, which had already constituted the highest number of arrests since 1991.

"I think the large number of arrests is a result of the activity downtown," added Lavin. "It brings us an awful lot of business.

I'm not sure if we are necessarily seeing larger crowds. My impression is that the size is very much the same over the years. What we are seeing is a very transient crowd - a lot of different people who are circulating through just in the different people we arrest. People who are in the area have heard about Hermosa Beach and want to come check it out."

Juvenile arrests in 2004 were reported at 20 compared to 28 in 2003.

Police once again reported no fatal traffic accidents in 2004, 2003 or 2002; and reported 60 injury traffic accidents in 2004 compared to 88 in 2003. In the downtown area, the Police Department has had to staff foot patrols in the downtown area virtually every night of the week, which is an indication that the area has become more active during the week as well as the weekends.

"It remains busy on the weekends, in particular, but even now during the week it's busy, busy enough where we would never staff foot patrols down there at night we are now staffing them about six nights of the week," explained Lavin.

"We almost have to maintain a presence down there to kind of keep things under rein. People get intoxicated and start fighting, and if we weren't down there to stop it, we would see our misdemeanor batteries escalating into felony assaults with deadly weapons.

Someone could even go to the point of killing someone else just because they are in a drunken stupor and they're doing something really stupid. So really one of the real basic missions of the officers down there is to try and stop those disturbances from getting out of hand."

The number of police calls for service decreased this year from 32,241 to 30,215 while the number of disturbance calls rose from 3,025 to 4,201. The number of parking citations also increased from 46,800 to 51,137.