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Top Stories on This Webpage: Starting March 15, 2007
The South Bay Harley Owners Group, otherwise known as the Hogs,
prepare to turn on to Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach as part of the
city’s 13th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. (photo by Chris Miller)
The Beach Reporter - March 15, 2007
Hermosa Beach News Annual St. Patrick's Day parade this weekend
Guinness anyone?
Mayor Sam Edgerton followed
up Keegan's comments with additional high praise for the popular parade.
In June 2005, the committee
reorganized and now comprises members from other Hermosa Beach-based groups
such as the Kiwanis Club, the Rotary Club, Leadership Hermosa and the
Women's Club of Hermosa Beach, along with the city, the Chamber of Commerce
and the Knights of Columbus. |
The Beach Reporter - March 15, 2007
Hermosa Beach - Crime Watch
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PETTY THEFT. A resident noticed several checks were posted to his checking account, resulting in approximately $640 in unauthorized charges. The incident occurred between Sept. 29, 2006, and March 3. The victim resides with the owner of a property that has been on the market for the past seven months. He believes his checkbook was taken during an open house, which are held periodically on the weekends.
GRAND THEFT. Someone allegedly removed a mountain bike from a parking complex on 15th Street. A resident parked and locked her bike at approximately 8 p.m. March 11. When she returned at noon the next day, she discovered the bike, worth approximately $1,000, was gone. She did not know the make or model of the bike.
VANDALISM. An owner of a black 2003 Honda Civic noticed her vehicle was damaged after parking it on 14th Street. The incident occurred between 4:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. March 12. According to the report, the front quarter panel was damaged.
TAMPERING WITH VEHICLE. Someone allegedly entered an unlocked vehicle and tampered with its contents. The incident occurred between 4 p.m. March 11 and 8 a.m. March 12. The vehicle, a gray 2004 Chevy truck, was left unlocked in the 1200 block of Ninth Street.
VEHICLE BURGLARY. The victim returned to his car to find the trunk open and several items missing from the passenger compartment. The vehicle was secured and parked in the 1200 block of Ninth Street. The incident allegedly occurred between 1 and 5 a.m. March 12. Several items were taken, including a baton, a knife, a camera, 3 Glock magazines, an XM radio unit, binoculars and several bulletproof vests. |
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The Beach Reporter – March 8, 2007
Hermosa Beach – Crime Watch GRAND THEFT/VANDALISM. Someone allegedly removed tools and damaged a truck bed parked in the 2200 block of Hermosa Avenue. The incident allegedly occurred between 2 p.m. Feb. 4 and 8:30 a.m. Feb. 5. The tools, which were unsecured, were worth $700.
VANDALISM. Someone allegedly put a large dent in a truck while it was parked on Pier Avenue in the parking lot at the Hermosa Beach Community Center. The incident reportedly took place between Feb. 25 and Feb. 26.
CREDIT CARD FRAUD. Someone allegedly charged various goods to a resident's credit card between Feb. 14 and Feb. 28 without her express permission. A resident living in the 600 block of Eighth Place recently received a package from New York. The purchase was listed to the resident's American Express business card. Upon learning of the charge, the resident notified her credit card company and filed a police report.
BURGLARY. Someone allegedly removed a mountain bike from a locked garage in the first block of 15th Street. The victim reportedly closed and locked his garage before leaving his home March 1. Upon returning several hours later, he discovered his garage was open and his mountain bike missing. The incident occurred between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
THEFT. Someone allegedly cut a lock securing two bicycles together in the 1200 block of The Strand between Feb. 24 and Feb. 25. A brown bicycle with a light brown seat and orange stripes was allegedly taken. |
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The Beach Reporter – March 8, 2007
Redondo Beach News Time Warner contractors raise ire of residents
Last week, contractors
working for the cable company caused an uproar with some South Redondo Beach
residents who said they were not notified that workers would be on their
property and in some cases drilling holes in their homes. When Time Warner
Cable took over Redondo Beach's local Adelphia Cable franchise, city
officials mandated that Time Warner bring all the cable lines into
compliance with local, state and federal code. According to Assistant City
Manager Maggie Healey, the city had been pressuring Adelphia for this work
and was not going to overlook the system's inadequacy any longer.
Healey claims she even
drafted a letter for the company with a description of the project and her
contact information for residents. Unfortunately, it seems the message did
not get through to everyone affected by the work. Time Warner spokeswoman
Patricia Rockenwagner said the company hopes to fix this problem.
Currently, Time Warner has
two groups of subcontractors working in Redondo Beach supervised by its own
project engineer. One group began in the south end and one in the north. As
work continues, they will converge toward each other and will meet in the
middle of the city. They are on track to complete the project by June 1,
ahead of the city-mandated deadline. |
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The Beach Reporter – March 1, 2007
Hermosa Beach News City seeking input on Aviation improvements
Although a citizen
committee was recently formed by Hermosa Beach to come up with ways to
improve Pier Avenue, local officials are simultaneously working on a similar
project to revamp another main thoroughfare - Aviation Boulevard.
In recent months, the city
has already moved forward with at least one major change to the street. In
December, town leaders were invited to a ceremony marking the installation
of palm trees along the busy street, a beautification project spearheaded by
local businessman Roger Bacon. Once installed, the sidewalks will be lined
with more than 60 queen palm trees. Following the trees' installation, the
street will also receive a new “slurry seal” to be installed by a pavement
and asphalt company.
Local officials may have been unaware of Talbot's concerns last fall when they proposed several changes to the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Aviation Boulevard. (see “Officials consider changes to PCH and Aviation” Oct. 31, 2006). City officials proposed adding another lane of eastbound traffic on Aviation Boulevard, adding another left-turn lane for southbound traffic on PCH and slicing off a portion of the park on the northeast corner of the intersection. However, several residents appeared before the Public Works Commission to vociferously oppose the changes because many viewed them as an attempt to divert southbound traffic onto Aviation Boulevard and Prospect Avenue.
Bacon fired off a two-page
letter to the City Council warning them that any idea to alter the park or
remove an entrance to his shopping center was “unacceptable,” while another
resident warned the commission to “think hard” before moving forward. On the
heels of the large backlash facing officials after Pier Avenue was reduced
from four to two lanes, the commission was wary of tinkering with any of the
city's other streets and declined to pursue any of the changes. |
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The Beach Reporter – March 1, 2007
Hermosa Beach – Crime Watch BURGLARY. Someone allegedly burglarized a home in the 1200 block of 11th Place. A resident left for a walk on the morning of Feb. 11. After returning, the resident noticed a side gate was open. The resident thought nothing of it at the time. He later discovered that several items were missing, including a green nylon Mira Costa bag, an HP laptop and an iPod. He believes someone entered the residence through the doggy door and took the property along with the gym bag. The incident allegedly occurred between 9 a.m. Feb. 11 and 7 p.m. Feb. 14.
PETTY THEFT. Someone allegedly stole a Palm Trio from an individual between 10:30 and 11:10 p.m. Feb. 15. After parking his car in a parking lot on 13th Street, a resident placed his cell phone in his pocket. Upon returning to his car later that evening, he discovered his cell phone was missing. He does not know how the phone was taken.
GRAND THEFT. Someone allegedly removed a purse from an establishment in the 1300 block of Hermosa Avenue that had been left on a table by its owner. The victim reported that she left her purse on a table and when she returned it was gone. Several items were in the purse, including a cell phone, driver's license, and various debit and credit cards. The incident allegedly occurred at 3 a.m. Feb. 19.
VANDALISM. Someone allegedly broke two west-facing windows of a newspaper business in the 800 block of Hermosa Avenue. The incident occurred sometime between Feb. 14 and Feb. 15. |
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Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach Crime Close-Up. Years 1998 to 2004 Crime Stat Comparison http://www.hbneighborhood.org/1%20HB%20CrimeNews%202006%201.htm
The Beach Reporter – December 29, 2006
Hermosa Beach News 2006: The Year in Review
Several stories reached the
headlines throughout the past year in Hermosa Beach. At City Hall, a new
member of the City Council was sworn in and local officials selected a new
police chief. One of the city's most popular bars burned down and several of
the city's former leaders died. All in all, here are some of the more
interesting and urgent stories to take place within the community in 2006.
Sharkeez fire
New
police chief |
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The Beach Reporter – December 29, 2006
Manhattan Beach News 2006: The Year in Review
Although the year started
off with one of the most massive sewage spills in memory and ended with a
fire that destroyed five beloved downtown Manhattan Beach businesses, 2006
also had several bright spots. From the completion of the long-anticipated
Police and Fire facility to Mira Costa's symphony and choir heading to New
York to perform at the famed Carnegie Hall, there was plenty happening
throughout the year. Here are some of the stories that made headlines in
Manhattan Beach this past year.
The sewage system failed at
a pumping station near 27th Street and The Strand. An estimated 2 million
gallons of raw sewage escaped, but only several hundred thousand gallons
made it directly into the ocean. Sanitation workers caught most of it in two
large basins that were created by sand-moving tractors at 21st Street and
the beach where the major spill occurred.
New police chief |
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The Beach Reporter – December 29, 2006
Redondo Beach News 2006: The Year in Review
As 2006 draws to a close,
here are some of the events that shaped the year in Redondo Beach.
His surviving brother and
business partner, Bob Meistrell, led the ceremony to commit Bill's ashes to
the deep. Hundreds of friends and admirers, many surfing legends themselves,
paddled out from Redondo Beach and met boaters off the shore early in the
morning of Oct. 2 for a touching ceremony that included joyful remembrances,
thousands of flowers and a 21-gun salute.
Councilman Steve Diels, a
cycling enthusiast himself, originally contacted race presenter AEG about
featuring the city at some point during the race. |
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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.
Hermosa Beach
Crime Statistics - 1998 to 2004Criminal Adult Total Calls Disturbance Burglary Robbery Assaults DUI Citations Arrests For Service Calls
1998 -- 113 17 77 150 562 608 19,951 3,199
2004 -- 140 20 143 164 1,419 1,388 30,215 4,201
Crime Categories That Have Shown an Increase from 1998 thru 2004
Criminal Adult Total Calls Disturbance
Burglary Robbery Assaults DUI Citations Arrests For Service Calls
Up Up Up Up Up Up Up Up
23.9 % 17.6 % 85.7 % 9.3 % 152 % 128 % 51.4 % 31.3 %
Source: The Hermosa Beach Police Department Activity Reports
The Hermosa Beach Neighborhood Association
City of HB Info HBNA Photo Gallery HB Crime Info HB Weblinks