Sunday Letters to the Editor

Act now to save Hermosa from bars

Hermosa residents, get involved. Please sign the "Lissner Referendum." There's far too much liquor dispensing in our downtown. Police, fire, paramedic and lawsuit costs related to alcohol downtown are drinking Hermosa's treasury dry with millions of dollars being wasted providing public safety there. Hermosa's small-town quality is being destroyed. Hermosa's beach culture has been lost to car culture. City money needed for neglected infrastructure, the residents' safety and tranquility is being diverted to policing thousands of bar-hoppers for bar-operator profits.

A burned-out lower Pier Avenue bar business has been given every opportunity and more to accomplish a restoration and return to business without having to provide a single additional parking space or pay a single dollar for parking to the city. Its owner instead now prefers to increase by 2,000 square feet his alcohol-dispensing square-footage on top of his current 3,600 square feet.

Hermosa's City Council has thus thrown all logic to the wind and agreed that more alcohol square footage is OK for lower Pier Avenue. It has thoughtlessly and ignorantly changed the city's law and implicitly agreed to build the owner's additional required parking for this bar expansion on city-owned land.

Residents and businesses in town know well that there is already too much alcohol concentrated downtown. So readers, please fill out and return the referendum form you received by mail. You will be giving the City Council the moral fortitude it needed to break the insidious grip alcohol businesses evidently have over it. Do this immediately as time is extremely short for this referendum's success.

n       HOWARD LONGACRE 

Letters to the Editor

Sharkeez twists referendum facts

I received a brochure from Baja Sharkeez the other day about Jim Lissner's referendum. Several points made in the brochure are not true and folks need to know the truth.

Baja Sharkeez claims that Lissner's "referendum singles out Baja Sharkeez." Lissner also mailed out a letter where the only mention about Sharkeez is that the referendum "will allow Sharkeez to rebuild to the same size." He doesn't say another word about Sharkeez. How is Lissner singling out Sharkeez when the ordinance applies to all businesses on the Pier Avenue Plaza? Sharkeez also claims that the "Referendum Threatens Pier." Keep in mind Lissner's referendum overturns the new ordinance and maintains the current ordinance. Is Sharkeez claiming that the city is currently destroying the plaza? That's certainly news to me and other Hermosans.

And if that's the case, why would Sharkeez be willing to rebuild? The owners of Sharkeez also don't seem to believe in the laws of our state. They seem to think citizens should not have the right to use the referendum to stop a law passed by an elected body. In the early part of the 20th century, the citizens of California voted to allow referenda so that the citizens could overturn bad decisions by their legislators. Lissner is only exercising his right to overturn what he believes is a bad decision by the City Council.

Let's let the citizens of Hermosa Beach decide what is best for Pier Avenue Plaza, not the owners of a bar/disco.

-- FRED HUEBSCHER

Hermosa Beach

Friday Letters to the Editor

HB doesn't need to change closing time

Although I don't live in direct proximity to the club on Pier Avenue, I have strong feelings about a trouble-plagued venue getting yet another chance.

The problems rooted in the downtown part of the city end up affecting everyone in the city by concentrating our already overworked Police Department in this area.

You leave your house at night at your own risk from speeding taxis, whose drivers don't seem to feel that stop signs and speed limits apply to them, as they try to squeeze in as many fares among clubs, liquor stores and all-night restaurants as they can.

If the midnight closing time will discourage actor-singer Steven Seagal from investing, perhaps that's just a huge bonus because, despite the quote from his representative citing his involvement would bring "classy elegance" to the city, those are two words I've never seen used in conjunction with Seagal.

Does the city of Hermosa Beach really need to attract any more celebrities and all the negative baggage they drag along? Most of us who live here think not.

-- SYLVIA SIMMONS

Hermosa Beach

Owner says moving up closing time would hurt Seagal Club

Proposal to turn nightspot 705 into a sushi restaurant and nightclub fit for musical performances from Steven Seagal himself has hit a bureaucratic snag and local opposition.

By Andrea Sudano
Staff Writer

Plans for the The Seagal Club in Hermosa Beach are under siege.

A proposal to turn popular nightspot 705 into an upscale sushi restaurant and nightclub fit for musical performances from actor-singer Steven Seagal himself has hit a bureaucratic snag and a groundswell of local opposition.

After a review of the club's permit, the city recently cut 705's usual 2 a.m. closing time to midnight, making the deal with Seagal impossible, said owner Tim Moore.

"We'll lose the sponsorship behind (Seagal)," Moore said. "It'll put 27 employees out of business."

But don't worry, Seagal fans: Moore and his lawyer plan to appeal the Planning Commission decision this week to the City Council.

"There's no way that the new business investors want to go forward with a 12 o'clock closing time," attorney Albro Lundy said.

Getting a reversal could be a hard battle, though.

The club, once known as Club 705, Pointe 705 and Saffire, has a checkered past.

City documents show the Police and Fire Departments received two-dozen calls about the club on Pier Avenue near Pacific Coast Highway in the first half of 2006, ranging from overcrowding, assaults, public intoxication and noise violations.

Nearby residents have long charged the club was too rowdy and an inappropriate landmark for the entrance to Hermosa's main commercial drag.

A little more than a year ago, the city offered a $1.1 million settlement to the club's previous owners, who alleged racism, harassment and excessive force from Hermosa Beach police officers.

Moore said his club has been punished for past indiscretions, and argued that since his company took over in June, 705 has drawn less police attention and spruced up its look. The clientele has gone from "thuggish" to upscale, he said.

And owners suspect Seagal's name would class up the joint even more.

"Steven Seagal was coming in, looking at being in a partnership and also performing to bring that classy elegance the city so badly needs," Moore said.

Attempts to reach Seagal or a representative were unsuccessful; according to his Web site, Seagal and his band are on tour in Europe.

Plans for The Seagal Club include a restaurant open from 11 a.m. to midnight daily, serving sushi and other Japanese cuisine. An adjoining sports lounge would feature televisions and appetizers, according to documents filed with the city.

The nightclub portion would allow ballroom and salsa dancing, live DJs and occasional band performances, including gigs with the martial arts star, who took his blues act to the club a few weeks ago, Moore said.

Seagal, who is very popular in Asia, would attract Japanese businessmen and "other captains of industry" to Hermosa Beach, as well as the actor's celebrity friends, the documents stated.

"It will be a mecca of sorts for (Seagal's) growing fan base, musicians, celebs, CEOs," they added, "and fans from all over the world will fly into L.A. to visit The Seagal Club."

But 705 could have a hard time convincing residents like Patty Egerer.

A vocal opponent of additional watering holes in town, she and many others believe the city's family atmosphere has disappeared and Hermosa Beach is too welcoming to new bars and nightclubs.

"We've got another 21-and-over club," she said. "We have these clubs masquerading as restaurants. This is a major issue and (city officials) just kind of say, 'OK, go ahead.' "

Thursday Letters to the Editor

Don't miss key night for HB's future

Next Tuesday could be an important day in Hermosa Beach, a turning point. Maybe for the better, maybe for the worse. At the Planning Commission's 7 p.m. meeting, the following matters will be acted upon:

The commission will be considering the mass rezoning of city-owned properties, even though, as the Dec. 14 Beach Reporter so aptly put it, "Officially speaking, there's nothing in the works."

They will be reviewing the conditional use permit (CUP) compliance of Pointe 705.

They will be doing the annual review of CUP compliance for all the other restaurants downtown. The minutes from the commission's January 2006 meeting (available at www.hermosabch.org) reflect that not one citizen, not even this author, rose to speak during the last annual review. Be there, if you care.

-- JIM LISSNER

Hermosa Beach

HB firefighters challenge proposed staffing analysis

By Andrea Sudano
Staff writer

Plans for an outside analysis of staffing levels in the Hermosa Beach Fire Department has rankled city firefighters, who are concerned that its purpose is to promote more extensive use of part-time reserves.

Rank-and-file firefighters Tuesday persuaded the City Council to hold off authorizing the $27,000 study for a few weeks until their union can weigh in on its methodology. The council said it would allow a revision of the questions to address concerns that the study otherwise will promote using reserves over hiring full-time firefighters.

"Seven times (the study) mentions augmenting the role of reserve firefighters," said Paul Hawkins, president of the Hermosa Beach Firefighters Association. "In reality, our reserve firefighters can only function in a minimal role. To expand their role would be unethical."

Here's a sampling of some other questions the city hopes the analysis could answer:

• Could the department's reserve force be more effectively utilized?

• Does the workload of 2,000 or more annual calls for service make the Fire Department busy by comparison to similar size departments in the South Bay?

• Is the department effectively delivering on its commitments to training and safety?

But specific questions aside, the union also took issue with why the study's lead analyst is a former fire chief of two California cities with no Hermosa Beach connection.

"What does he know that our chief doesn't?" Hawkins asked. "What is he willing to do that our chief isn't?"

Councilman Kit Bobko took the strongest stance against the study, wary of paying a consultant nearly $30,000 to answer questions he said he believed the fire chief could solve himself.

"I believe the chief should be making those decisions," he said. "That's why we're paying him. ... If he's not doing that or he's unable to do that, that's a different question."

Fire Chief Russell Tingley stayed mostly mum during the tense discussion, but said Wednesday an independent consultant would provide objectivity to the analysis.

"We're expecting that the outside consultant can bring experience to take a look at many facets of the Fire Department -- not only staffing -- to work with me, to work with the labor group and the city manager to further define the scope and do a proper study," he said.

The strained discussion Tuesday seemed to spotlight long-running tensions between Fire Department management and the union, which has long complained about low staffing levels.

Two years ago, the department took a unanimous vote of no confidence against Chief Tingley.

"There's a running skirmish and, over time, that's not good," Mayor Sam Edgerton said. "When I saw this (study), I thought, 'Aha! At least we're going to figure that out.' "

The city shouldn't have to wait much longer.

A representative for the firefighters union is slated to meet with city officials today to develop additional questions for the study, Tingley said.

The council will take a second look at the proposed analysis in two weeks. If approved, the study should take up to 12 weeks to complete, Tingley said.

Hermosa Beach catches centennial fever

By Meredith Grenier
DAILY BREEZE

Hermosa Beach is 100.

That's no secret to the city's centennial committee, which for a year has planned the year-long celebration from the tip of its famous pier to the top of its historic windmill.

The all-volunteer committee of about two dozen people, led by Maureen Ferguson and Laura Raymond, has planned dozens of events and programs for 2007 that commemorate the city and its illustrious past.

The long-awaited ribbon-cutting for the Hermosa Beach Historical Society kicks off the celebration at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The society building, at 710 Pier Ave., has been closed for more than a year for refurbishment. Among the museum's collection of artifacts is an authentic lifeguard station, historic surfboards and hundreds of photographs. There will be live entertainment and refreshments until 5 p.m.

Also on Sunday afternoon, just down the street from the historical society, the 5-foot-tall, 50-foot-long Centennial Children's Mural will be available for viewing. The mural, on the side of the Community Center at the southwest corner of Pier Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, depicts Hermosa Beach scenes. It was designed by P.J. Pauly and Greg Leibert.

The mural panels were painted by area students under the designers' supervision. The project is sponsored by the Hermosa Beach Arts Foundation and the Hermosa Beach Kiwanis Club.

At the end of the year-long celebration, the mural will be taken down and reinstalled, probably in a classroom or hallway inside the Community Center.

From 5 to 6:15 p.m., Hermosa Beach Mayor Sam Edgerton will give his State of the City Address at the Beach House Hotel, at 1300 The Strand.

With the conclusion of the official proclamations, the centennial vibe will enter full Hermosa Beach partying mode with a family-friendly birthday party from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. Sunday. There will be a cake-cutting, free cookies depicting the Hermosa centennial seal and live music by Dean Torrance of Jan & Dean and the Stonebridge Band. The party will conclude at 8:30 p.m. with a fireworks display orchestrated to music.

"It is really exciting because we are the first centennial in the area. Next year is Manhattan Beach's centennial and after that it will be Redondo Beach's," said co-chairwoman Ferguson.

She added that the committee, along with sponsorship from nonprofit organizations and businesses, promises an entire year of events from "100 Acts of Beautification" to a centennial time capsule fund-raising event. The capsule will be buried in the fall on the Hermosa Beach Pier Plaza.

For centennial events and programs throughout the year, check the Hermosa Beach Centennial Web site at www.Hermosa100.com.

Will nightclub hit the right notes at the Redondo pier?

Redondo Beach City Council tonight will consider a Santa Monica jazz and blues venue's plans to open a new spot on the pier.

By Kristin S. Agostoni
DAILY BREEZE

A longtime Santa Monica jazz and blues club plans to open a new location on the Redondo Beach pier.

Harvelle's, which has been in business since 1931 on Fourth Street, has its eye on the basement spot that was most recently the home of Moxie Nightclub.

That controversial venue packed up and left in September as noise and nuisance complaints mounted, leaving the 6,000-square-foot space empty. The venue's size and location in the South Bay was a good fit for the jazz club's expansion plan in California and other Western states, said co-owner Cevin Clark. In addition to downtown Los Angeles and San Francisco, he said, Harvelle's is considering opening clubs in Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Ariz.

Clark said the Redondo Beach venue can accommodate 450 patrons, which means the business could attract bigger acts such as Etta James and Buddy Guy, along with newer jazz and blues artists.

"What we're doing is creating a West Coast circuit of Harvelle's," he said. "(Redondo Beach) will be if not the biggest among the biggest clubs that will be in the circuit of Harvelle's. I think the South Bay really needs a place like this."

The City Council is scheduled tonight to vote on a sublease agreement between the nightclub and pier leaseholder Bob Resnick, who controls the spot at 100 J Fisherman's Wharf.

The business would operate beneath Kilkenny's, an Irish pub that opened last summer at the circle where Torrance Boulevard dead-ends at the pier.

An entertainment permit setting the hours for live performances and other rules laid out by the council would be approved at a later date, city Harbor Director Barry Kielsmeier said.

Then the club would start pumping money into interior renovations, with the goal of opening by March 15, Clark said.

"It's going to look like a '20s, '30s speakeasy," he explained. "I want to create a really cool vibe."

To avoid late-night traffic jams with patrons simultaneously exiting the pier parking garage, Kielsmeier said the city likely will order Harvelle's to validate parking inside the business.

The same requirement was imposed on Moxie Nightclub. Despite those efforts, however, city leaders decided in September that a string of fights among Moxie patrons had become too much of a burden on the city's police force.

Police Chief Joe Leonardi had suspended Moxie's live entertainment privileges leading into the Labor Day weekend, citing a melee a few days earlier that drew 30 police officers from six South Bay cities.

Under the proposed sublease arrangement with Harvelle's, the city's harbor fund would receive 3 percent of the nightclub's gross sales, according to a staff report.

The pact offers an initial term of five years with three five-year extensions.

Hermosa Beach - Police Log

Disorderly Conduct / Assault: 12:59 a.m. Dec. 15, 1300 block of Hermosa Avenue.  A police officer saw four people fighting at Pedone’s Pizza, resulting in the arrest of a 23-year-old man who faces charges for assault, disorderly conduct and vandalism to a police vehicle

Robbery: 1:15 a.m. Dec. 15, 1000 block of The Strand.  A robber took a victim’s wallet after threatening him with a knife, threw the wallet to the ground and then fled with another male suspect.  The victim reported $100 missing.

Robbery: 2:46 a.m. Dec. 15, 800 block of Bayview Drive.  Someone pressed a hard object into the victim’s back, threatening him and demanding his wallet.  The robbers fled with cash.

Burglary: Midnight Dec. 16, to 8:30 a.m. Dec. 17, 1600 Bayview Drive.  Unknown suspect entered victim’s residence and removed money, Xbox games, DVDs and stereo equipment.

The Daily Breeze – December 13, 2006

Assault With a Deadly Weapon: 1:40 a.m. Dec. 4, 00 block of Pier Plaza.  Someone at the Lighthouse threw a 12-ounce glass at the victim, hitting her in the face.  She required medical attention.  Co-workers of the victim, who was not working that night at the bar, told police a woman who was arguing with the victim threw the glass.

Commercial Burglary: 6 p.m. Dec. 2 to 11 a.m. Dec, 1300 block of Hermosa Avenue.  No signs of forced entry; approximately 12 pieces of clothing valued at $2,000 was taken.

 The Daily Breeze – December 6, 2006

Assault and Battery: 2:33 a.m. Nov. 25, 1100 block of Hermosa Avenue.  A participant in a fight was arrested on suspicion of fighting in public, public intoxication and resisting arrest for allegedly trying to attack another person involved in the incident as he was talking with police officers.  The report noted that the man had to be restrained when he resisted arrest when confronted by many police officers.

Obstruction: 2:33 a.m. Nov. 25, 1100 block of Hermosa Avenue.  A man was arrested on suspicion of resisting, obstructing or delaying a peace officer and public intoxication for allegedly disobeying an officer’s order to step back, yelling at officers to let a man under arrest go and slapping the officer’s are causing a minor injury while the officer was attempting to secure a perimeter at the scene of the fight.

Residential Burglary: 10:35 to 10:39 p.m. Nov. 17, 1900 block of Manhattan Avenue.  A resident heard the voices of two males in the residence, shouted at them to leave and heard them leaving.  Police officers found a trail of muddy footprints and a screw driver that did not belong to the resident.  Entry appears to have been made through a window.

Theft: 6 to 6:15 p.m. Nov. 28, 700 block of Sunset Drive.  A man in a white older model van stopped his vehicle and took a backpack containing school books.  A boy had set the bag down as he was standing outside waiting for his mother to come home from work.

Will permits keep Hermosa Beach noise in check?

If paperwork is required for live entertainment, businesses could lose privileges when things get too rowdy. Proposed ordinance comes up tonight.

By Andrea Sudano
DAILY BREEZE

Do you have a permit for that karaoke machine?

Some Hermosa Beach businesses might very well need one under a proposed ordinance the City Council is scheduled to consider tonight that aims to curb noise by making businesses get a special permit to host live entertainment such as bands or disc jockeys.

An "entertainment permit" would require proprietors to spell out the type of entertainment they have, how many performers will appear, and when and how long the act will last, City Manager Steve Burrell said.

Permits must also be renewed annually and can be suspended or revoked if the business becomes a nuisance.

The permit system gives the city a quicker and easier route to pursue violators, said Councilman J.R. Reviczky, who pitched the idea a few months ago.

"This permit is something they could lose," Reviczky said. "When there's consequences for your actions, you tend to think twice about those actions. ... I don't want to keep hiring cops and keep cops down there. I'd rather attack the problem at the source."

Pier Plaza hot spot Patrick Malloy's often features live entertainment, said owner Fred Hahn. And if the ordinance is approved, the bar would need a permit. "This was a surprise to all of us," he said. "We want to find out how they want to police it. What are they going to use to gauge? There's a lot of unanswered questions."

The entertainment permit system would also crack down on party promoters who use a Hermosa Beach venue for a night, make a bundle on cover charges and leave town by the next day.

If approved, the ordinance would require them to have a permit as well. "Many times we don't know who this guy is," Reviczky said. "We've had some promoters come down here and promote some outrageous types of entertainment in the evening and are not held accountable."

Redondo Beach already has a similar permit system. The City Council in September revoked Moxie Nightclub's permit after a series of fights broke out near the club on the city pier.

Known for its active nightlife, Hermosa Beach attempted to create a permit system in the late 1990s, Reviczky said, but the proposition was shot down.

Tonight, he hopes for a different outcome.

"This also allows us to go after the problem business rather than making sweeping changes that affect everyone," Reviczky said. "We're not painting them with the same brush."

Finding abodes abroad

Hermosa home-swap service goes Hollywood as the plot device for a major motion picture.

By Andrea Sudano
Daily Breeze

Longtime Hermosa Beach resident Ed Kushins loved to travel but hated expensive, impersonal hotels lacking the comforts of home.

So, about 15 years ago, he started a paper directory of people around the world willing to trade homes temporarily with strangers.

Now, after swapping his walk street home about 15 times, the 59-year-old has turned his business into www.HomeExchange.com, a popular online service with thousands of members worldwide, a handful of South Bay employees and a prominent role in this weekend's seasonal chick flick "The Holiday."

"It's a dream come true for us," Kushins said.

The film stars Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet as two unlucky-in-love women eager for a change of scenery. They find Kushins' Web site and impulsively swap homes.

Diaz's character goes to the London cottage of Winslet's character; Winslet's character winds up at Diaz's Brentwood mansion. Then, of course, hilarity and romance ensue.

Columbia Pictures approached Kushins about a year and a half ago for permission to feature his Web site in a big-screen romantic comedy, he said.

According to the film's production notes, screenwriter and director Nancy Myers was planning a vacation when she stumbled upon Kushins' site.

"I had no idea this kind of thing ever existed," she said. "On the Web site, I read about all these fantastic houses. Eventually, I realized I would have to trade mine to get one."

Trading homes provided a springboard for her film's plot line, Myers said.

"I thought it would be a wonderful starting point for two women who are both running away from something," she said. "Swapping houses becomes the first step in taking their lives back."

He didn't get paid for his cameo of sorts, but after getting a sneak peek of the film a few weeks ago, Kushins knew he made the right choice.

"We're 40 feet tall on the screen," he said. "So, that's pretty cool."

That kind of free exposure is a fantasy for any small-business owner, Kushins said. And he believes the film might help home-swapping become the next big thing.

"It's going to be trendy," he said. "The analogy we make is Internet dating. Five years ago, Internet dating was not trendy and was sort of weird."

But already HomeExchange.com has about 14,000 members all over the world, with 40 percent in the United States. The South Bay's picturesque quality and proximity to Los Angeles provide a good draw, Kushins said.

Hermosa Beach resident Mitch Gordon's listing for his 19th Street home garners inquiries from several home-swappers a week, he said.

Fed up with paying hotel bills and a mortgage when traveling, Gordon turned to homeexchange.com in 2001.

"I have an asset here and it kills me to pay for a hotel," he said. "You spend a few hundred dollars a night and you barely spend any time in the room."

Gordon has happily swapped his home about five times now. His next trip is scheduled for February -- a ski vacation in Mammoth.

Kushins said the home-swapping premise of "The Holiday" puts both characters in situations they might not encounter in hotels -- like finding love interests in local men baffled by strange women living in their friends' homes.

Kushins doesn't promise any love connections, but new friendships are a near certainty.

"There's nothing like a home-exchange vacation for comfort, for being able to live like a local, to be able to meet the neighbors," he said. "The family leaving invariably goes out of their way to have the neighbors come over, your kids play with the kids on the block."

Clients admit it requires a specific personality to handle strangers in their home, but numerous pre-trip e-mails and telephone calls help ease the transition, said Maria Carlson, a Redondo Beach resident who traded her Catalina Avenue town house a couple of times.

"I couldn't let strangers stay in my place," she said. "But by the time you exchange, you're friends. (One lady) said, 'I can't wait to meet you.' You kind of become friends."

While Carlson called "The Holiday" a cute, romantic comedy after a sneak preview, the premise of strangers swapping homes could just as easily be a horror film, or a nightmare in real life.

But Kushins swears his clients have never reported anything creepy happening while trading houses.

"No deaths, no murders, no coming home to a trashed house," he said.

Hermosa Beach resident Nancy Rogers said an Italian swapper once racked up a $700 telephone bill full of international calls while at her home, but the debt was quickly settled.

Most complaints come from clients with unmet expectations. Some expect more from the home, or one's standards of cleanliness are unmet, Kushins said.

The small business, however, has more than met Kushins' original expectations.

With little overhead and each of the 14,000 clients paying a $60 annual membership, the Web site makes a nice profit, Kushins said.

And now with Hollywood calling, who knows what will happen? But Kushins is staying put in Hermosa Beach.

"I moved to Hermosa in 1977," he said. "I'm never leaving, no matter what. I'm not going to Hollywood. (Hermosa Beach) is like being on vacation all the time."

Hermosa Beach – Police Log

ROBBERY: Around 2 or 2:30 a.m. October 28, 700 block of Pier Ave.  The victim said she was pushed to the ground by unknown people, losing control of her purse that had been cradled under her arm.  She remained motionless on the ground for several minutes, afraid to get up.  When she did, her purse was gone.  She called her creditors the next day and learned one of her credit cards had been used at a gas station.

EXHIBIT A DEADLY WEAPON: 1 to 1:17 a.m. October 29, 1700 block of Hermosa Avenue.  Police arrested a man who allegedly stole property from the victim’s residence during a party.  When the victim confronted the man outside, he pointed a knife at the victim.

ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON: 2:18 a.m. October 27, 1100 block of Hermosa Avenue.  The victim was hit in the head with a metal straw dispenser while involved in a fight with another male.

FIGHT IN A PUBLIC PLACE: 2:36 a.m. October 27, 00 block of 15^th Street.  Police arrested a man on suspicion of fighting in public and public intoxication for allegedly striking another man repeatedly with a belt.

BURGLARY: 4:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. October 23, 400 block of Herondo Street.  Someone smashed ground-level windows and possibly entered an apartment.  The loss, if any, was not known at the time of the report.

BURGLARY: 8 a.m. October 21, to 8 a.m. October 26, 00 block of Pier Plaza.  A work badge was taken from a locked locker at a Los Angeles County lifeguard facility.  No signs of forced entry into the locker.

GRAND THEFT: 6 to 6:30 a.m. October 25, 10^th Street lifeguard station.  The victims left a bag and purse at the lifeguard station while they went swimming; both were gone upon their return.  The loss also includes a cell phone, glasses, money, checks and snorkeling equipment. 

THEFT: 11:30 p.m. October 27, 700 block of Pier Avenue.  Purses were taken from a couch in a club.

VANDALISM: 6 p.m. October 28 to 8 a.m. October 29, 19^th Street and Bayview Drive.  Someone threw a rear-view mirror through the back window of a van.

Hermosa dreams of PCH takeover

City sees potential merit in assuming responsibility for route controlled by Caltrans.

By Andrea Sudano
DAILY BREEZE

If Hermosa Beach controlled its chunk of Pacific Coast Highway, it could hang advertisements across the thoroughfare as it pleased.

It could dump that pesky California Department of Transportation-mandated ban on rush-hour street parking. And the city could more easily make long-wanted improvements to the highway's median.

So, the city is considering negotiating with Caltrans for say over its sliver of PCH, which would allow Hermosa Beach to call the shots on that stretch of road.

City staffers are calculating how much the endeavor would cost, and the City Council could consider the proposal before the year is up, said Public Works Director Rick Morgan.

"It's a big cost," he said. "Whether our little city is up for that, I don't know. ... It would be interesting, if we had control, how far we could go."

Money aside, the road to an autonomous north-south arterial spanning less than 2 miles can be long.

If the council goes for the idea, officials would send a letter to Caltrans expressing interest in the thoroughfare and a series of discussions and studies could begin, said spokeswoman Jeanne Bonfilio.

"It's a process. It's a team effort," she said, adding that relinquishment of the road could take up to two years to complete. "We try to work out things that are best for both parties. ... Each particular case is studied, specific to that case."

Morgan said Hermosa's chief desire for control comes from a 2003 Caltrans ruling that ordered the city to take down a banner running across PCH near First Street.

The streamer was part of a city fundraising effort in which businesses paid $2,500 for a 4-by-30-foot sign hoisted across the intersection; all money went straight to local charities.

Caltrans gave the city 30 days to remove the banner or face large fines, charging the sign violated state regulations against private advertising on state property.

"They said if you want to have the right to do this, you should consider relinquishment," Morgan said. "Caltrans would give it to us and some money and it would be our road and we could continue it."

Mayor Sam Edgerton, who blasted Caltrans' admonishment in 2003, supported a Hermosa Beach takeover of PCH and thought the city could afford its upkeep.

"We've always had issues with Caltrans about the management of that highway," he said. "Local control is a better thing for the issue of allowing not-for-profit charities, other issues relating to parking that would favor residents and businesses."

As part of the handover, the state also could ante up some money for initial repairs.

When Redondo Beach gained control of Artesia Boulevard several years ago, Caltrans kicked in $7 million.

Lawndale got $1.6 million after it took over its piece of Hawthorne Boulevard in 1999.

A year earlier, Torrance received $5.4 million for repairs to the then-blighted Artesia Boulevard between Hawthorne Boulevard and Western Avenue.

Copley exploring options for Breeze, its other newspapers

Breeze's parent company is taking the action because of an industry downturn and estate tax obligations.

By Muhammed El-Hasan
DAILY BREEZE

The Copley Press Inc., owner of the Daily Breeze, said Tuesday that it is "exploring strategic alternatives" for its seven newspapers in Ohio and Illinois that could result in their sale.

The private La Jolla-based media company said it was taking this step because of the contraction in the newspaper industry and debt incurred from estate taxes after company matriarch Helen K. Copley's death in 2004.

In June, Copley made a similar announcement regarding its Los Angeles-area holdings including the Daily Breeze, Palos Verdes Peninsula News, The Beach Reporter and More San Pedro under the umbrella of Copley Los Angeles Newspapers, headquartered in Torrance.

Tuesday's announcement does not change Copley's effort to find a buyer for the Daily Breeze and its other Los Angeles assets, Harold Fuson, Copley senior vice president, said in an interview.

"All I can say about that is that the process is continuing, and we anticipate that it will be successfully completed," Fuson said.

Copley had hoped to conclude a sale of the Daily Breeze by late September or early October, said Art Wible, the paper's publisher. However, the continuing downturn in the newspaper industry has complicated this process, he said.

"It now looks like we'll likely need most of November to conclude if we have a deal or we don't have a deal," Wible said. "We're not having a fire sale at the Breeze. We hope to conclude a favorable arrangement. And if not, Copley L.A. will continue to be part of the Copley newspapers."

If the Daily Breeze stays a part of Copley, the parent company would pursue a partnership with one of its three main competitors in the Los Angeles market, Tribune Co.'s Los Angeles Times, Media-News Group's Los Angeles Newspaper Group and Freedom Communications' The Orange County Register.

If the Daily Breeze isn't sold, the factors that prompted Copley to put it on the block would remain, Wible said. The Daily Breeze is not sufficiently large to attract enough big national and regional advertising accounts. Therefore, the paper must establish a relationship with one of Los Angeles' three big media players to be able to compete, Wible said. Such an arrangement could involve a larger partner securing national ads for the Daily Breeze, which would in turn share the revenue.

Wible declined to discuss who had shown interest in purchasing the Daily Breeze, although industry speculation has focused on Denver-based MediaNews as the most likely buyer. Media News' Los Angeles Newspaper Group owns the Long Beach Press Telegram, the Daily News of Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the Pasadena Star-News, the Whittier Daily News and several other papers in the Inland Empire.

"The process included a number of interested parties, and that we are engaged with at least one party that can do some of the things that we stated (was) why we got into this in the first place," Wible said.

When Copley first announced plans to possibly sell the Daily Breeze, no mention was made of Helen Copley's estate taxes. However, if that was one of the reasons for a sale, then Tuesday's announcement makes a Daily Breeze sale less urgent, Wible suggested.

"There's not as much pressure to make this happen as when Copley entered into this in the first place," Wible said, referring to the potential sale revenue of Copley's Illinois and Ohio newspapers.

Wible criticized estate taxes, which he said "take an ugly toll on family businesses" such as Copley.

A media company selling assets to pay estate taxes is hardly unprecedented, said Jay Harris, former publisher of the San Jose Mercury News.

"If you looked at the history of (media firm Gannet Co.), I can think of several ... family-owned companies that they purchased primarily during the 1970s. And many of those were for the same reason," said Harris, a journalism professor at USC's Annenberg School for Communication.

Estate taxes notwithstanding, it has been a tumultuous year for the newspaper industry, with readers and advertisers increasingly switching from newsprint to the Internet. That dynamic has challenged newspapers, which have struggled with a resulting loss in revenue.

For example, the move to the Web factored into the sale in June of Knight Ridder Inc., the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, to McClatchy Co.

Wible declined to discuss Daily Breeze revenues, noting that Copley is a private company. He added that the Daily Breeze financials are in better shape than in 2005 and are outperforming the 2004 forecast.

Copley's Ohio newspapers include The Repository in Canton, The Independent in Massillon, and