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Top Stories on This Webpage: Starting March 29, 2007
Read the complete news stories, just below on this webpage:
Carjack Attempt -
Hermosa
Police made an arrest after a man allegedly cut two people with a knife or razor during a failed carjacking on Monday. The incident began when house painters working on Ingleside Drive left their keys in their van, and then one of the painters’ found a man sitting in the driver’s seat with the engine running at about 10 a.m., police said. The man told the painter “I have a big truck coming through and you need to move your van.” The man slid over, and the painter hopped in behind the wheel and drove about 10 feet. Then the man pulled out a metal knife or razor and held it to the painter’s throat saying, “Keep driving or I will kill you,” a police report stated. The painter hopped back out and another painter suffered a cut on his arm as he struggled with the man. The man then tried to cut the first painter’s throat, injuring him on his arms and one hand, a police report stated.No spa drinking - The city’s Planning Commission on Tuesday turned thumbs down on beer and wine service inside the Glen Ivy Health Spa at the Hermosa Pavilion mall on Pacific Coast Highway. Glen Ivy was expected to appeal the decision to the City Council. Glen Ivy representatives said they want patrons to be allowed to sip wine in the lounge rooms of the pamper place, which doles out massages, pedicures and the like. Planning commissioners said Glen Ivy’s plan would set a precedent that could expand alcohol service to other businesses. Hermosa currently allows alcohol service in restaurants, bars and a wine store inside the Pavilion.
Injuries follow dispute -
At least one broken bone was suffered when four passengers emerging from a “party bus” were struck by a vehicle following a verbal dispute, police said. According to a preliminary investigation, the incident began early Saturday morning when riders in a double-decker bus heading to downtown Hermosa got in a dispute with four people in a black Jeep Cherokee. The bus parked in the area of Beach Drive and 11th Street to unload its passengers about 12:30 a.m. The Cherokee drove by, and it occupants “flipped off” bus passengers, police said. The Cherokee was driven away only to return, striking four people who exited the bus, police said. Paramedics treated the injured people at the scene, and according to preliminary police reports, at least one person suffered a broken leg. The Cherokee later was discovered parked on Valley Drive and the investigation is continuing.KCBS TV - Channel 2 - Boy Hurt When Hit-And-Run Driver Crashes Into Home In Hermosa Beach - A gray Chevrolet pickup truck smashed into a house on Beach Avenue, injuring twin children. Two people have been arrested. Paul Dandridge reports.
See the News Video of this KCBS Channel 2 News Story
:
Pickup hits Hermosa home, hurts sleeping boy - man and woman were being held after a pickup truck smashed through the wall of a home on quiet Beach Drive about 5 a.m. Friday, breaking the leg of a 5-year-old boy who had been asleep in his bed. The truck then sped away, bashing down several Beach Drive traffic barriers. Both Ruben Vargas, 43, and Irma Lourdes Carder, 28, admitted driving the full-sized Chevrolet pickup during the getaway from the house near Ninth Court, and police were trying to determine who was driving when the truck when it hit the house, HBPD Sgt. Paul Wolcott said. The pickup apparently had been parked in a small “parking alcove” opposite the house on the narrow, alley-like Beach Drive when it was thrown into a forward gear, traveled about 10 feet, and bashed into the house, Wolcott said. The truck then was backed out and drove southbound through the barriers that are meant to slow and control traffic. Hermosa police issued an all-points bulletin for the pickup, using the front license plate which had been wrenched free by the crash and left at the house.
Wrongful death claim filed in traffic death of teenager - The City Council on Tuesday rejected a claim for damages from the parents of a 15-year-old Hermosan who was struck and killed in a busy intersection in March. The administrative claim filed by William and Ellen Wright could be the first step in a wrongful death lawsuit against the city. The Wrights contend the city failed to install traffic lights or take other pedestrian safety measures at Pacific Coast Highway and 16th Street, where their son Ian was struck as he crossed PCH on a scooter. A traffic light had been planned for some time before the accident, and was installed shortly after Wright was struck. The Wright’s claim did not specify the amount of damages sought. The claim names Caltrans as a defendant along with the city of Hermosa Beach.
HB bar plan a threat to public safety - This letter represents a plea that the Hermosa Beach Planning Commission and City Council exercise whatever influence they have to deny a permit for a 15,000-square-foot restaurant/bar at the Hermosa Pavilion. I currently own a business in Hermosa -- after 33 years in law enforcement for Los Angeles County. There was a time when I didn't think any city could have too many bars. What has happened to our little community shows me I was wrong. The proposed monster bar at the Pavilion is not planned to meet the needs of the Hermosa drinkers. If every resident drank, we'd still have plenty of bars. It's an effort to draw drinkers and their wallets from out of the area. Make no mistake, that effort will be successful. As a former gang investigator, I found that every unsavory element imaginable between here and Riverside would find his way to the 91 freeway and drive toward the sun. That would drop them right here, about six blocks north of the proposed mega-bar.
Letters - Drink to me with thine ayes - The downtown drinking district continues to generate numerous quality of life issues and a negative image for our community. Destruction is not limited to vandalism spilling into our neighborhoods. On May 25, 2006 during a candidates forum a resident spoke of violence (drunken brawl) that occurred in front of their home. The victims scream awakened residents in the early morning hours, as the assault was in process. I was especially distressing to witness because the victim was a woman. The atmosphere of public intoxication, which is encouraged pay no dividends. How unfortunate, families and children who desire to visit the beautiful beachfront and pier have to pass a throng of bars. Hermosas permissive drinking policies in the downtown bar district is having a debilitating effect on our community. The erosion of public safety touches the lives of every resident and property owner.
Letters - A tire iron to Hermosas downtown - O
ver the last several years the residents of Hermosa Beach who live west of Monterey Blvd. have had to survive beer bottles in their yards, public urination, and the destruction of private property. Last Saturday night at 3 a.m., my car and a neighbors car suffered the blows of a tire iron, resulting in broken windows and body damage. A few months ago the church on the corner of 16th Street & Manhattan Ave. had a brick thrown through a very expensive 80-year-old stained glass window. These are not isolated incidents. The list of vandalism, thefts, battery, loud and disorderly behavior, and DUI driving resulting in hit and run accidents is long and must be addressed and remedied. I am aware that with budget cuts and the magnitude of this problem the HBPD is already overtaxed with respect to available resources but a solution must be found. Last Friday night cost me $841 and I stayed home. Can anything be done?
Hermosa Beach man 36, is killed in late night traffic crash -
A 36-year-old Hermosa man was killed when the 'pickup truck he was driving went out of control on Sepulveda Boulevard and smashed into a metal wall outside Hotel Hermosa shortly before 1 a.m. last Wednesday, police said. Only minutes before, the man had plowed into parked cars on two Hermosa streets, police said. He then drove the 2001 Toyota Tundra into Manhattan and was making his way south on Sepulveda where he struck some concrete trashcans on the northwest corner of the intersection with Artesia Boulevard, police said. The pickup also struck the concrete median and knocked over a traffic light pole. The vehicle skidded sideways across part of the intersection, flipped over and went the rest of the way upside down, a passing motorist told police.
The saddest rule of government -
One of the maxims told to me about government when I was first elected to office was a simple, sad, and frustrating one: You dont get a crosswalk until a kid gets killed. The accident that occurred on PCH two weeks ago, killing a teenage boy trying to cross the street, was tragic not just because it was likely preventable. It is tragic because the need for a signaled crosswalk at that intersection has been known for years.
1. Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk
2. Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk
3. Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk
Teen was fun-loving, precocious, adventurous -
A 15-year-old Hermosan who was struck and killed in an intersection last week was a sweet-natured, precocious, adventurous young man who loved surfing and rock climbing, family members said. Ian Wright was walking at nine months, and rock climbing at nine months and one day, his mother Ellen Wright said. The teenager also was a voracious reader who loved history and mythology, and fantasy offerings such as The Lord of the Rings. Wright was crossing the six-lane highway going from east to west, within the painted crosswalk, and had cleared all but the final lane when he was struck by a southbound 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer driven by a 25-year-old West Covina woman, police said.
Hermosa Beach Arrests hit an all-time high - The year 2004 saw a record number of arrests in Hermosa -- 1,388 -- topping the old record of 1,315 set the year before. Those high-water marks go back at least to 1991.
HBPD 2004 Crime Statistics - Show what crime categories have increased from 1998 thru 2004.
The Easy Reader – March 29, 2007
Hermosa Beach - About Town Carjack Attempt Police made an arrest after a man allegedly cut two people with a knife or razor during a failed carjacking on Monday. The incident began when house painters working on Ingleside Drive left their keys in their van, and then one of the painters’ found a man sitting in the driver’s seat with the engine running at about 10 a.m., police said. The man told the painter “I have a big truck coming through and you need to move your van.” The man slid over, and the painter hopped in behind the wheel and drove about 10 feet. Then the man pulled out a metal knife or razor and held it to the painter’s throat saying, “Keep driving or I will kill you,” a police report stated. The painter hopped back out and another painter suffered a cut on his arm as he struggled with the man. The man then tried to cut the first painter’s throat, injuring him on his arms and one hand, a police report stated. The man fled, and was found and arrested by Hermosa police officers. Looking ahead The City Council has agreed to study a proposal by Councilman Michael Keegan for a “specific plan” to more tightly manage future development downtown. Some officials anticipate possible new development in the area with the death of Peter Mangurian, owner of downtown properties including Scotty’s restaurant on The Strand. In addition, developers have show interest in downtown properties including the Sea Sprite motel owned by the Greenwald family. Keegan said the plan would cover an area bound roughly by The Strand on the west, 10th Place on the south, Hermosa Avenue on the east and 14th Street on the north. A specific plan would give city officials great leeway in deciding what sort of business could occupy the area, how much open space or parking would be required, or even what sort of building materials could be used. The shaft The City Council has rejected a $513,000.25 claim for damages from a Los Angeles man who said he fell about six feet down an open elevator shaft in Hermosa’s municipal parking garage on the afternoon of Oct. 14, 2006. Such claims are sometimes followed by lawsuits. The man wants $13,000.25 for medical expenses and $500,000 to cover other damages such as lost earnings. Airport banners City officials plan to revisit a proposal to stop airplanes towing advertising banners above Hermosa. The City Council has shelved the proposal to await the outcome of court challenges in Honolulu and Huntington Beach, and officials said rulings in those cases apparently clear the way for the banner ban. City Manager Steve Burrell told the council he has asked officials of neighboring cities to join in banning the banners. ER |
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The Easy Reader – March 22, 2007
Hermosa Beach - About Town
No
spa drinking -
The city’s Planning Commission on Tuesday turned thumbs down on beer and
wine service inside the Glen Ivy Health Spa at the Hermosa Pavilion mall on
Pacific Coast Highway. Glen Ivy was expected to appeal the decision to the
City Council. |
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The Easy Reader – March 22, 2007
Hermosa Beach Hermosa is told to reinstate officer fired in gun dispute
The Los Angeles County
Civil Service Commission has unanimously ruled that the Hermosa Beach Police
Department wrongly fired Officer Todd Lewitt, and must reinstate him with
back pay. The ruling upholds an earlier decision in Lewitt’s favor by a
commission hearing officer. |
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The Easy Reader – February 1, 2007
Hermosa Beach Nightspots move to police themselves
Owners of popular downtown
nightspots are getting together to “police” themselves and cut down on
excessive noise and rowdiness, in hopes of preventing stricter regulation by
the city. |
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The Easy Reader – January 25, 2007
Hermosa Beach About Town
Raise for manager -
The City Council has
approved a three-year contract raising the salary of City Manager Steve
Burrell to $200,000 for the final year. Burrell, who has served as city
manager for 14 years, will see his current $170,000 salary raised $10,000
each of the three years. Previously the council has renewed Burrell’s
contract on a yearly basis. The move to a three-year pact was made for
Burrell and other city employees to make the process less time consuming,
officials said. |
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The Easy Reader – January 18, 2007
Hermosa Beach New restrictions approved for Club 705
The city Planning
Commission has moved to place restrictions such as a midnight closing time
upon 705, formerly Saffire, a large restaurant on upper Pier Avenue across
from the city skate park. The establishment has prompted police reports of
excessive noise and fights, mostly before the current owner took over. |
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The Easy Reader – January 18, 2007
Hermosa Beach About Town
Laker takes cake?
Injuries follow dispute At least one broken bone was suffered when four passengers emerging from a “party bus” were struck by a vehicle following a verbal dispute, police said. According to a preliminary investigation, the incident began early Saturday morning when riders in a double-decker bus heading to downtown Hermosa got in a dispute with four people in a black Jeep Cherokee. The bus parked in the area of Beach Drive and 11th Street to unload its passengers about 12:30 a.m. The Cherokee drove by, and it occupants “flipped off” bus passengers, police said. The Cherokee was driven away only to return, striking four people who exited the bus, police said. Paramedics treated the injured people at the scene, and according to preliminary police reports, at least one person suffered a broken leg. The Cherokee later was discovered parked on Valley Drive and the investigation is continuing.
Sand sponsors, Strand sponsors |
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The Easy Reader – January 11, 2007
Hermosa Beach More condo offices planned, firefighters’ staffing studied
A city committee was
scheduled to get a first look at another proposed office building in town,
this one on the 900 block of Hermosa Avenue where Ocean View Cleaners now
stands. |
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The Easy Reader – January 4, 2007
Hermosa Beach Ruling: HBPD wrongly fired officerCleared in handgun incident
A hearing officer has
determined that the Hermosa Beach Police Department wrongly fired Officer
Todd Lewitt, and determined that Lewitt had been falsely accused of trying
to sneak a loaded handgun past an airport metal detector, the officer’s
attorney said. |
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The Easy Reader – December 7, 2006
Letters to the Editor
Mochas or Mercedes?
Eyes
on the $$$
Stealing from kids |
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KCBS-TV Channel 2 – October 6, 2006
Boy Hurt When Hit-And-Run Driver Crashes Into Home In Hermosa Beach
October 6, 2006
A gray Chevrolet pickup truck smashed into a house on Beach Avenue, injuring twin children.
Two people have been arrested. Paul Dandridge reports.
See the News Video of this KCBS Channel 2 News Story
The Easy Reader – November 23, 2006
Hermosa Beach Disabled man files lawsuit claiming battery by HBPD
A lawsuit by a disabled man
claims that Hermosa police threw him from his wheelchair and kicked him in
an August 2005 incident on a city street. A police report describes the man
as striking an officer who tried to get him to clean up after his dog. |
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The Easy Reader – November 23, 2006
Hermosa Beach Tattoo you tooJudge dismisses tattoo artist’s lawsuit
A judge has dismissed a
federal lawsuit by a tattoo artist who claimed he is illegally barred from
setting up shop in Hermosa Beach. The artist, Johnny Anderson, filed a
similar lawsuit against the city of Torrance, which was settled with
Anderson receiving an undisclosed amount of money. |
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The Easy Reader – October 12, 2006
Hermosa Beach Pickup hits home, hurts sleeping boy
A man and woman were being
held after a pickup truck smashed through the wall of a home on quiet Beach
Drive about 5 a.m. Friday, breaking the leg of a 5-year-old boy who had been
asleep in his bed. The truck then sped away, bashing down several Beach
Drive traffic barriers. |
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The Easy Reader – September 14, 2006
Hermosa Beach Wrongful death claim filed in traffic death of teenagerRobb Fulcher
The City Council on Tuesday
rejected a claim for damages from the parents of a 15-year-old Hermosan who
was struck and killed in a busy intersection in March. The administrative
claim filed by William and Ellen Wright could be the first step in a
wrongful death lawsuit against the city. |
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The Daily Breeze July 21, 2006
Letters to the Editor |
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HB to decide eatery's closure time Next week, the Hermosa Beach City Council will decide whether Mediterraneo restaurant is to close at 2 a.m., the hour the owner would like, or midnight, the hour the Planning Commission gave him. It will be a tough decision for council members. Most of the other restaurants on Pier Plaza enjoy the 2 p.m. closure time. If the public upholds the Planning Commission's midnight time, it would be a turning point in Hermosa. An old precedent will have been broken, and a new one set. The hearing will be held 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. The public can attend and speak to the item. -- JIM LISSNER Hermosa Beach |
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The Daily Breeze July 16, 2006
Sunday Letters to the Editor |
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HB bar plan a threat to public safety This letter represents a plea that the Hermosa Beach Planning Commission and City Council exercise whatever influence they have to deny a permit for a 15,000-square-foot restaurant/bar at the Hermosa Pavilion. I currently own a business in Hermosa -- after 33 years in law enforcement for Los Angeles County. There was a time when I didn't think any city could have too many bars. What has happened to our little community shows me I was wrong. The proposed monster bar at the Pavilion is not planned to meet the needs of the Hermosa drinkers. If every resident drank, we'd still have plenty of bars. It's an effort to draw drinkers and their wallets from out of the area. Make no mistake, that effort will be successful. As a former gang investigator, I found that every unsavory element imaginable between here and Riverside would find his way to the 91 freeway and drive toward the sun. That would drop them right here, about six blocks north of the proposed mega-bar. This proposal represents a huge public safety issue ripe for a citizen's backlash. Weekend policing/patrols and 911 response times are already seriously compromised by the Pier Plaza bar scene, even when things are going smoothly. Between 1 a.m. and 2:30 a.m., I have to assume the majority of drivers here in Hermosa are drunk and trying to find their way out of town. This bar is being planned and bankrolled by a truly interesting character, and local officials know it. He has relied on brinkmanship and foot dragging on other issues with the Pavilion, and the notion of a real, viable, restaurant is laughable. If the restaurant doesn't make him money -- which it won't -- he'll have a bigger bar. If he has entertainment, he can charge a cover, which is cash and under the radar as to reportable revenue. In terms of planning, let's make some plans for our kids and their kids. This is not Moreno Valley. The folks who can afford to live here are bright, successful and obviously did something right with their lives, or have a trust fund. Please don't allow our elected officials to turn their backs on these people and pander to the developer and an army of horny twenty-somethings who will descend on our community. They will not be driving down here for dinner. -- RICHARD HALLIBURTON Hermosa Beach |
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The Easy Reader June 29, 2006
Hermosa Beach Letters to the Editor
Audit em
Dear ER:
I read with great interest last weeks letter Drink to me thine eyes. I am in complete agreement with the writers scathing disapproval of what is happening in Hermosa Beachs downtown bar district. As a Hermosa Beach home owner, I am disgusted and appalled at what our fair city has become.
All of our cops are down in the bar area. You never see police around the rest of the city Thursday thru Sunday nights. I hope my house isnt being robbed because there would not be any police watching out for me. They are all downtown stopping the fights, urinating, underage drinking, and doing their own share of checking out the chicks and admiring groupies. It is pathetic. Recent figures show that residential burglaries in Hermosa rose in 2004 from 137 in 2004 to 187 in 2005. That is a whopping 36 percent. It is no wonder, as our cops are all downtown where the fights and scenery are.
I heard recently that one homeowner who lives up the street from the pier awakened at midnight to strange noises outside his house and after looking out his window, discovered a young couple exploring their carnal knowledge on his front yard. He turned the sprinklers on and that ended it. He didnt even report it to the cops. How much of this sort of thing isnt even added to the list of published statistics?
If I want to go downtown in my own city for a dinner on Friday night after working hard all week, I would have to wait in line behind a screaming bunch of tiny-bobs and gang bangers who live everywhere but here to get into a restaurant where the decibel level approaches the level of a jack hammer. And then when I did get out of there with my lady without being thrown up on, leered at, and commented about, I could go home to my peaceful neighborhood maybe.
Do I have to go to a neighboring city to eat on weekends? Have we ever asked the ABC Board to audit those Pier bars to see if they are even paying their fair shared of city taxes?
Anonymous Hermosa Beach
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The Daily Breeze June 25, 2006
Sunday Letters to the Editor
HB lane changes will benefit bars
"Where but in Hermosa Beach would upper Pier Avenue, the central access to its downtown bars, be reduced to one lane each way to allow for still more alcohol dispensing businesses on widened public sidewalks, while causing bar patrons in their cars, cabs and limos to use residential side streets as the alternate access to that bar district?"
That's quoted from a letter to the Daily Breeze 10 years past when Hermosa's City Council took the first legal step toward a single-laned Pier Avenue.
The single lane is to promote more alcohol-dispensing establishments along upper Pier Avenue. Tiny Hermosa Beach is alcohol-, cab- and parking-saturated at night and needs not one more alcohol outlet of any kind to swagger or stagger past. City residents have been impacted and damaged enough by incredibly dumb council approvals regarding alcohol. Have they nor the council no limit?
Most disingenuous was the council's June 13 attempt at deception in bragging that $4 million will be spent repairing Hermosa's neglected residential streets. In fact, more than half of that is for this single lane paving and expansion of the alcohol district onto widened upper Pier Avenue fancy sidewalks, and at no cost to the commercial property owners to benefit there. Less than half will go for any residential street repair in the other 96 percent of the city, and that after virtually nothing was spent this current year.
The city's public safety costs of nil-city-revenue producing alcohol businesses are drinking the city treasury dry, so why does the Hermosa's council desire more alcohol-dispensing businesses anywhere in city?
-- HOWARD LONGACRE
The Easy Reader June 8, 2006
Hermosa Beach Letters to the Editor
Drink to me with thine ayes
Dear ER:
The downtown drinking district continues to generate numerous quality of life issues and a negative image for our community. Destruction is not limited to vandalism spilling into our neighborhoods.
On May 25, 2006 during a candidates forum a resident spoke of violence (drunken brawl) that occurred in front of their home. The victims scream awakened residents in the early morning hours, as the assault was in process. I was especially distressing to witness because the victim was a woman.
The atmosphere of public intoxication, which is encouraged pay no dividends.
How unfortunate, families and children who desire to visit the beautiful beachfront and pier have to pass a throng of bars.
Hermosas permissive drinking policies in the downtown bar district is having a debilitating effect on our community. The erosion of public safety touches the lives of every resident and property owner.
Remedial action in the bar district is essential and will require significant policy changes. The answer is not to saddle residents with more costs to support a highly undesirable section of town.
Name withheld by request Hermosa Beach
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The Easy Reader May 25, 2006
A tire iron to Hermosas
downtown
Dear ER:
Over the last several years the residents of Hermosa Beach who live west of
Monterey Blvd. have had to survive beer bottles in their yards, public
urination, and the destruction of private property. Last Saturday night at 3
a.m., my car and a neighbors car suffered the blows of a tire iron, resulting
in broken windows and body damage. A few months ago the church on the corner of
16th Street & Manhattan Ave. had a brick thrown through a very expensive
80-year-old stained glass window. These are not isolated incidents. The list of
vandalism, thefts, battery, loud and disorderly behavior, and DUI driving
resulting in hit and run accidents is long and must be addressed and remedied. I
am aware that with budget cuts and the magnitude of this problem the HBPD is
already overtaxed with respect to available resources but a solution must be
found. Last Friday night cost me $841 and I stayed home. Can anything be done?
Rick Koenig
Hermosa Beach
The Easy Reader April 27, 2006
Hermosa Beach News Man is killed in late night traffic crash
by Robb Fulcher
A 36-year-old Hermosa man was killed when the 'pickup truck he was driving went out of control on Sepulveda Boulevard and smashed into a metal wall outside Hotel Hermosa shortly before 1 a.m. last Wednesday, police said.
Only minutes before, the man had plowed into parked cars on two Hermosa streets, police said. He then drove the 2001 Toyota Tundra into Manhattan and was making his way south on Sepulveda where he struck some concrete trashcans on the northwest corner of the intersection with Artesia Boulevard, police said.
The pickup also struck the concrete median and knocked over a traffic light pole. The vehicle skidded sideways across part of the intersection, flipped over and went the rest of the way upside down, a passing motorist told police.
The pickup struck the wall and came to a stop upside down. The driver, who was alone in the vehicle, was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center where he died from his injuries about 6:15 a.m., Manhattan Beach Police Sgt. Bryan Klatt said.
The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office identified the man as Lance Juracka.
Hermosa police first began getting calls when the pickup hit a parked vehicle near 16th Street and Hermosa Avenue, Sgt. Tom Thompson said. As police rushed to find the motorist they got further calls saying the pickup had bashed into a parked car at about 22nd Street and Manhattan Avenue. A witness to the second crash said the parked car was pushed 50 feet down the roadway.
"All three crashes happened within six minutes of each other," Thompson said.
"We were getting calls left and right." Some of the initial callers reported that the pickup was heading south, unintentionally throwing off police a little. Just the same, officers arrived at Artesia and Sepulveda/Pacific Coast Highway about the time the pickup got there, Thompson said. Long streaks of paint were seen at two of the crash sites, and police said the pickup appeared to be equipped for painting jobs. ER |
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The Easy Reader March 30, 2006
On Local GovernmentThe saddest rule of government
One of the maxims told to
me about government when I was first elected to office was a simple, sad,
and frustrating one: You dont get a crosswalk until a kid gets killed. |
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1. Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk
2. Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk
3. Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk
The Easy Reader March 23, 2006
Hermosa Beach News Teen was fun-loving, precocious, adventurous
A 15-year-old Hermosan who
was struck and killed in an intersection last week was a sweet-natured,
precocious, adventurous young man who loved surfing and rock climbing,
family members said. |
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The Easy Reader March 2, 2006
Police claims nixed, Edison hammered by the HB City Council
By Robb Fulcher
The Hermosa Beach City Council on Tuesday rejected two administrative claims against the Hermosa Beach Police Department, including one by a man who claimed he was forced from a wheelchair and suffered a concussion and injuries to his neck and arms when he was violently arrested.
The council also sharply criticized cost increases and engineering delays in a proposed project to bury overhead utility lines, at the expense of property owners, in an area of town spreading northeast from Ralphs Shopping Center.
The administrative claim by David A. Nichols, described as a paraplegic with limited use of his hands, alleges that he was forced out of his wheelchair when he was arrested August 21, 2005.
An attorney retained by Nichols was not immediately available for comment. A police report states that Nichols was arrested about 11:30 a.m. for allegedly striking a HBPD officer who was trying to persuade Nichols to clean up after his dog.
The incident began when an employee of a downtown hotel flagged down the officer after failing to persuade Nichols to pick up dog feces, the report stated. Nichols tried to wheel away from the officer who blocked his path and then was struck, the report stated.
In the other claim Donald Morgan of Lomita alleged that the Hermosa Beach police falsely arrested him August 26, 2005 and seized tools belonging to him, costing him a job.
With the rejection of the claims by the City Council, the two men can file civil lawsuits against the city if they choose.
The Easy Reader February 16, 2006
Arrest brings
lawsuit -
A civil rights lawsuit has been
filed by three local residents who were arrested by Hermosa police on
misdemeanor charges in 2004 and later exonerated in a Superior Court trial. The
federal lawsuit claims that Hermosa officers roughed up Robert Nolan of Hermosa
and Joel Silva of Lawndale and made false statements in police reports after
Nolan, Silva and Michelle Myers of Hermosa were arrested for allegedly blocking
a police cruiser as it made its way across the Pier Plaza pedestrian promenade.
The FBI also opened an inquiry into allegations that police violated the civil
rights of the three.
Gym appeal -
Opponents are seeking to appeal a judges decision allowing construction of a
gymnasium building at Hermosa Valley School, a project for which ground was
formally broken late last month. A lawsuit by the opponents, including some
school neighbors, contended that the school board did not properly address
concerns about noise, traffic and parking near the campus on Valley Drive north
of Pier Avenue. The lawsuit also contended that the 2002 ballot measure for the
school bonds did not include the gym in a list of projects to be funded. Gym
opponents also said they would continue to challenge $1.5 in special state funds
the school board secured for the project last year.
School board vacancy - Hermosa
Beach City School Board members were leaning toward appointing a replacement for
board member Linda Wolin rather than calling for a fresh election after she
announced she will leave her post to move to the San Francisco area. Although
no formal vote was taken board members last Wednesday said they plan to seek
applicants for Wolins position, then choose among them, after she formally
resigns. Wolin has said she would resign about March, leaving about two years of
her term unfilled. Wolin announced last month that her husband Jon has accepted
a new position in Northern California. The familys move also created a vacancy
on the Beach Cities Health District board, of which Jon Wolin was a member. The
Health District board also opted to appoint rather than elect a replacement, and
plans to consider applicants for Wolins position Feb. 22. The Health District
provides programs such as the Center for Health and Fitness, the AdventurePlex
health and fitness center for youth; emotional and logistical support to the
elderly; and mental and emotional health classes and seminars for the general
public. ER
Star search - Anyone interested in producing a public access TV show can call the Adelphia Communications cable company at 406-1960, ext. 1986 to enroll in free classes to learn the technical aspects of getting a program onto the air. Classes are upcoming and the sizes are limited. ER
KCBS-TV February 8, 2006
Former Teacher Acquitted Of Sexual Assault Charge
(CBS)
TORRANCE,
Calif. A Torrance Superior Court jury acquitted a former Catholic
school teacher Wednesday of sexually assaulting another educator in Hermosa
Beach.
Aran Delaneys first trial ended in October 2004 after the jury deadlocked on
three counts of sexual assault. The present jury acquitted 29-year-old Delaney
of one count of penetration by a foreign object, deadlocked 11 to one on a rape
count and 10-2 on a sodomy charge, both in favor of acquittal.
Torrance Superior Court Judge William Hollingsworth declared a mistrial and
ordered the attorneys and Delaney back to court March 9 to discuss the future of
the case.
Delaney was a fourth-grade teacher at American Martyrs Catholic Church in
Manhattan Beach in late June 2003, when the alleged attack occurred. The alleged
victim, then 33, taught at another South Bay school.
The alleged victim testified that she met Delaney at the North End Bar and
Grill, where they left feeling intoxicated. She testified that Delaney sexually
assaulted her on a walk-street near the bar.
Delaney said the sex was consensual and denied sodomizing her.
Delaneys parents were sentenced to 16 months in pirson in December 2004 for
trying to dissuade the alleged victim from testifying against their son. The
pair pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy, witness intimidation, trying to
bribe a witness and threatening a witness, according to the District Attorneys
Office.
The Easy Reader December 22, 2005
Suspected meth lab is raided on PCH
About 250 empty 10 ounce cans of butane were found in the homes outdoor trash cans.
By Rob Fulcher
Hazmat-suited authorities on Tuesday swooped down on a purple, 1920s-era house in the 1800 block of Pacific Coast Highway and carried away chemicals allegedly used to cook methamphetamine.
Authorities also recovered about tow pounds of marijuana and found a room in the house dedicated to growing weed, Hermosa Beach Police Detective Sgt. Steve Endom said.
The purple house with green trim near 18th Street was searched after its two residents were pulled over in a vehicle nearby about 3 a.m., police said. The officer who stopped the vehicle found evidence of possession of marijuana for sale, Endom said.
Men from the California Department of Justice and LAPD strapped oxygen tanks onto their backs over full-length white protective suits, and strode past a front porch trellis in to the chemical-infested home.
Down below on the sidewalk detectives described the lab as a smaller, typically Hermosa-sized one. Still, Endom said, based on the amount of chemicals, a lab that large is found in Hermosa only about once a year.
Its an unusual occurrence for us, he said. The lab was not in use at the time and no meth was recovered, police said.
The pot room also appeared to be between crops, police said. Only a few live plants were found, Endom said, along with pots, lighting and irrigation equipment used to grow plants without soil.
One wall of the pot room, covered with a huge poster of the late reggae star and marijuana exponent Bob Marley, was visible through the homes front picture window.
As Marley smiled down onto the street below, a plastic Target store bag sat just outside the front door containing low-quality shake pot that apparently had been discarded by the growers, police said.
About 250 empty 10 ounce cans of butane were found in the homes outdoor trash cans, indicating that that amount of the highly flammable substance had been processed inside the house over about a week, Endom said.
As authorities continue to investigate, a young woman paused on her way to visit a friend living next door to the purple house. What happened? she asked a detective. They had a meth lab, the detective answered.
Shut up! the woman blurted.
She had come to retrieve a dress from her friends home but was not allowed to cross the yellow crime-scene tape. Instead a burly detective went up the driveway and returned carrying a dress on a hanger in one hand and a pink Victorias Secret bag in the other.
Thank you so much, the woman said, then cast another look at the purple house and expressed concern for her friend, the neighbor.
This is very scary, I want her to come stay with me, the woman said.
The two people who were arrested, a 29-year old man and 28-year-old woman, did not own the home, police said. Both were booked into the Hermosa Beach Jail, he on suspicion of possessing pot for sale and she on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance and possessing pot for sale, police said. ER
The Beach Reporter December 22, 2005
Hermosa Beach - Crime Watch
VANDALISM. A car parked in the 1300 block of Bayview Drive was reportedly burglarized Nov. 17 around 3 a.m. The victim, who reported the incident Dec. 12, said that he heard a loud noise outside the front of his apartment building. He then called 9-1-1 and assumed the police were handling a disturbance call. The man returned to his car a few hours later and discovered a trash can on top of it. He talked with one of his neighbors who said that she heard the noise as well and when she went outside to see about it she saw another neighbor. She said that he was drunk and has consistently harassed her, but that she did not see him throw the trash can.
CREDIT CARD FRAUD. An unknown person reportedly used a bank credit card belonging to a woman living in the 600 block of Fourth Street to make fraudulent transactions between Nov. 23 and Dec. 11. The victim checked her bank account online and discovered numerous unauthorized charges, the first one at a Shell gas station for $75. She learned that other charges had been made at gas stations in California, Texas and Arizona and the last purchase in Pomona. The total amount of unauthorized charges total $1,510.
ATTEMPTED ROBBERY. Two men reportedly tried to rob another man in the 3300 block of The Strand Dec. 7 at 9:45 p.m. The victim was walking on The Strand during his evening exercise when he noticed two subjects in hooded sweatshirts walking toward him from the opposite direction. The victim made eye contact with one of the suspects as they passed and he then forgot about them. Shortly after, the two men grabbed the victim from behind and he turned around and saw the two subjects. The suspect whom he gave eye contact to said, Give me your money. The man then pointed a black revolver into the victims abdomen at point blank range. The victim said he did not have any money and the suspect added, Give me your wallet, give me your watch. The suspect then began to search the victims waistband for valuables. The victim, afraid for his safety, handed the suspects over an inexpensive watch to the robbers. The suspect examined it and handed it back over. The suspects then fled the scene.
The Beach Reporter - December 1-15, 2005
Hermosa Beach - Crime Watch
CHURCH WINDOWS. Two church widows were reportedly smashed between Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. and Dec. 4 at 9 a.m. One of the windows was stained glass while the other was made out of glass that was amber in color for a total value of $800. A cinder block and a red brick that were used to break the windows were found inside the church.
BATTERY. A man was reportedly assaulted by a group of men near Hermosa Avenue and 14th Street Nov. 27 at 1:45 a.m. The victim was kicked out of a nearby bar and was very upset about it. He walked around to cool down when he heard someone yelling at him. He was still mad so he yelled back. He then saw the main suspect running rapidly toward him who then started punching him in the face with his fists. The victim dropped to the ground and covered his head. The suspect was with five other men, and the victim wasnt sure exactly who was hitting and kicking him.
ROBBERY / STABBING. A man was reportedly stabbed and robbed of his wallet in the 1000 block of Bayview Drive Oct. 15 between 3:30 and 3:43 a.m. The man was walking to his car parked in the 500 block of Eighth Street after going to the bars on the pier plaza. The car was parked near an apartment complex he visited earlier that day. Two men wearing dark clothing approached the man and demanded his wallet. The men then grabbed the man and tried to wrestle his wallet away but the victim fought back by grabbing it by both hands. One of the suspects hit the man who felt a pain in his lower abdomen and realized he had been stabbed. The man let go of the wallet, and the two men removed an unknown amount of cash and possibly some credit cards and dropped the wallet. The man told police that he did not see the men get into a car. He was apparently in shock when he talked to police and was transported to a nearby hospital by paramedics.
The Easy Reader December 1, 2005
If
City Council members cannot decide how to replace Howard Fishman, who resigned
from the council citing a family illness, state law calls for a special election
so Hermosa voters can choose his replacement. Last week Fishman announced that
he would not take the council seat he won in the Nov. 8 election, leaving his
four-year term up for grabs.
The four remaining council members will meet Dec. 13 and discuss whether to hold
an election or appoint someone to replace Fishman. They could reach a decision
then, so the council can hardly be described as deadlocked at this point.
But those same four council members have found themselves in at least one major
2-2 deadlock before, and if they dont make a decision by Jan. 12 theyll find
themselves there again. In that case a 30-day window would close and California
Government Code section 36512 would call for an election to choose a replacement
for Fishman, City Attorney Michael Jenkins said. Under the law the four sitting
council members would be required to replace Fishman by a vote of the
electorate.
In interviews Councilman Sam Edgerton and Mayor Pete Tucker have stressed the
benefits of appointing a replacement for Fishman. Councilman Michael Keegan
stressed the benefits of having Hermosans elect a replacement, and Councilman JR
Reviczky said he wanted to consider the options. If potential swing vote
Reviczky sides with Keegan and the positions harden a deadlock would result,
amounting to a win for those who want a fresh election.
The lineups - It was Edgerton and
Tucker on one side and Keegan and Reviczky on the other in a recent, notable
council deadlock that occurred over a plan for free citywide wireless internet.
(Potential swing vote Art Yoon, who Fishman was set to replace on the council,
declined to vote on the Internet issue because he works as a telecommunications
executive.)
Edgerton and Tucker ran as allies in the 2003 election that swept Tucker into
office and returned Edgerton for a fourth term. In the campaign for this years
election Keegan praised Reviczkys steady leadership; Keegan was returned for
a second term and Reviczky was returned for a fourth term.
Replacement options - Edgerton has
said the four sitting council members should replace Fishman by appointing Jeff
Duclos, who received the most votes among the losing council candidates on Nov.
8. We have a fourth-place finisher who came in close to the pack of three
[winners], Edgerton said.
Edgerton said a special election would cost $30,000 to $40,000, a cost the
public might not embrace.
City Clerk Elaine Doerfling said she was looking into the costs of holding a
stand-alone city election, or placing the matter on city ballots for the
statewide June primary election, or holding an election by mail.
I hope we dont engage in the usual politics and we just appoint the next guy
[in the Nov. 8 balloting] and get on with the business of the city, Edgerton
said. In a 10-candidate field Duclos pulled down 1,804 votes or 13.3 percent.
During the race Edgerton contributed $250 to Duclos candidacy. Keegan, who
butted heads with Edgerton on the Internet issue, spoke with praise of Patrick
Kit Bobko, who supports Keegans Internet position. Bobko finished one
position behind Duclos with 1,367 votes or 10 percent.
Edgerton said he would have supported an appointment of the next runner-up
whether it was Duclos or another candidate. I would have appointed the fourth
person even if it was Fred Huebscher, he said, referring to a nemesis from a
previous council race.
Keegan described Bobko and Duclos as qualified candidates but said his opinion
is immaterial; its the voters who should decide among whoever would run. I
will always defer to the people in choosing their leaders, Keegan said.
He said that is especially important considering Fishmans replacement will
serve a full term on the council and then enjoy the advantage of incumbency in
an election four years later. My interest lies in letting the people decide
rather than appointing someone to a four-year term that can turn into multiple
terms, he said.
Keegan said vacancies in the state Senate and Assembly and county board of
Supervisors are filled through elections, emphasizing the importance of voting
people into office. Keegan said a statewide election in June would draw a large
turnout, allowing a large number of Hermosans to choose their next council
member, and said the cost to the city would be about $5,000 to $10,000 for its
spot on the ballot.
Tucker said he was weighing the options of appointing versus electing Fishmans
replacement, adding that an appointment would be quicker and would avoid
possible tie-vote stalemates on the council.
Drum roll
- Potential swing vote
Reviczky last week said he was keeping an open mind, adding, The question boils
down to: do you appoint the next highest vote getter or hold an election.
This week he speculated that on Dec. 13 he and his colleagues would agree to
seek applications from Hermosans who want to replace Fishman. Reviczky said he
would be eager to examine the credentials of any applicants and he suggested
that Duclos could apply and be passed over. If you appoint, the idea is to
appoint the best person, not necessarily the next person, Reviczky said. Based
on the councils regular meeting schedule, the four sitting members would have
one meeting on Jan. 10 to choose the winning applicant or place the matter
before the electorate.
Reviczky said he also wanted to examine the costs of placing an election item on
the ballot. Ive heard estimates from $5,000 to $80,000, he said. Id like
that narrowed down a little. Reviczky said he did some research looking for
precedents and found one case in 1960 of the City Council appointing a member to
fill a term that was vacated eight months after it began. In that case the
council appointed K.R. Pat Anderson to replace Jim Karnes, who had resigned.
Measuring E - Gary Brutsch,
spokesman for the failed Measure E on the Nov. 8 city ballot, said he did not
know whether another attempt would be made to place the citizens-initiative
measure on a possible special election ballot. Brutsch said he thinks the
measure would be important to protect the beach and greenbelt from possible
future construction. ER
The Easy Reader December 1, 2005
Finding a
replacement
The Hermosa Beach City Council must, within 30 days of the certification of the
last election, deal with the stunning and sad news that Howard Fishman will be
unable to take office because of the illness of his wife. It is stunning because
of its suddenness and sad because Howard would have made a fine councilman, with
his depth of government experience in the South Bay.
The Council is faced with two choices to fill the seat. They can appoint someone
to the position or call for a special election. There are arguments for both
sides, but these unusual circumstances clearly call for a new election.
Generally, when vacancies occur in elected bodies, the period of time to be
filled is limited. In this case, however, that period of time could be as much
as four years. That makes this situation unusual.
One might think that with the vote to fill the seat so recent, the fourth place
finisher in the contest to fill three seats, in this case Jeff Duclos, should be
awarded the seat. However, that assumes that, had Fishman not been on the
ballot, everyone would have voted the exact same way.
People vote in multiple candidate races in odd ways. Not everyone votes for the
full complement of possibilities. Some people vote for just one person. This is
known as bullet voting. In any case, without Fishman, the dynamic of the race
could have been completely altered. An alternative father down the list, with
views more like Fishmans than Duclos, might have prevailed.
So, having an election is, to me, the right way to go. However, there are
competing scenarios in this as well. In a city like Hermosa Beach, which
contracts with the County to run its elections, the cost of a special election
could be high. In addition, because of the timeframe required for getting
signatures to be on the ballot, printing election booklets with candidate
statements, etc., a minimum of three months would pass before an election could
occur anyway, taking us into March or April.
On June 6, 2006, California will conduct a primary election. For the city, this
should dramatically reduce the cost of running the election.
However, if they wish to run their own election, the city has the option to run
a mail-only ballot. In this case, there would be no costly and cumbersome
polling places. Every registered voter would receive a ballot, just like an
absentee would. The voter must sign the return envelope to prevent fraud.
This system has been used in many California localities and is in operation
throughout the state of Oregon. Without polling places there are no poll workers
to train, no equipment to deliver and recover and would provide a near immediate
result, since most of the ballots would be returned prior to Election Day. Under
the law, these ballots can be processed up to seven days prior, but not reported
until the close of balloting.
The city can decide whether the close of polling means that either all ballots
must be received by a certain time, or they can be postmarked by that time. The
latter would mean that some ballots would come in a few days after voting
closes.
An election to replace Fishman is preferable to appointing. Waiting until June
is preferable to running a special election, even if that means appointing
someone to fill the seat until then. But, if a special is necessary, making it
as voter-friendly as possible should be the way the city goes. ER
The Easy Reader December 1, 2005
Volunteers have plucked bulk wrapping paper from a garbage dump and received at
least one police escort on Christmas Eve to bring thousands of toys to kids of
all ages throughout the South Bay. And theyre getting ready to do whatever it
takes all over again as the popular Beach Cities Toy Drive shakes the snow out
of its beard and awakens for another holiday season.
Volunteers announced that they have begun accepting donations of new, unwrapped
toys at the Hermosa firehouse on Pier Avenue at Valley Drive. In addition
volunteers were inviting all comers to the annual toy wrapping party 11 a.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17 at the Hermosa Beach Community Center gymnasium, Pier Avenue
and Pacific Coast Highway. It usually takes about three hours to wrap all those
presents.
Organizers were reminding wrapping-party volunteers to bring wrapping paper and
tape, especially needed this year since a 200-pound roll of paper rescued from
a garbage dump by Hermosan Phyllis Ramsey finally ran out last year.
Hermosa Councilman JR Reviczky is among those who have made Santa-like
deliveries on Christmas Eve of toys that are donated after the wrapping party.
One year he placed a man-sized stuffed polar bear on the passenger seat of his
car, buckled it in and began driving it down the 405 Freeway (not in the carpool
lane).
Other motorists honked and waved, and a California Highway Patrol officer gave
JR and the bear special attention. He pulled up alongside of me and looked,
then he pulled ahead of me and turned on his lights and everything and gave me
an escort for about five miles, Reviczky said.
The toy drive nets about 4,000 to 5,000 toys a year and works with organizations
such as Richstone Family Center and 1736 Family Crisis Center to get them to
kids of all ages by Dec. 25. For more information on the toy drive call 379-6267
or 372-4460. ER
The Easy Reader December 1, 2005
Hermosa police were seeking witnesses after a man broke into a home in the 3500
block of Manhattan Avenue about 3:30 a.m. Oct. 29 and fled when a woman resident
screamed, and hit and scratched him.
Police urged anyone who might have seen the man flee to call Hermosa Beach
Police Detective Bob Higgins at 318-0341.
The man was described as 6 feet tall and athletic wearing a long-sleeved,
button-down shirt and possibly khaki pants.
He entered the home, possibly through an unlocked door, police said. The woman
was awakened by a sound, shouted, and confronted the man, who was wearing a
smooth, latex, skin-colored mask, in a hallway. The man grabbed her throat and
she fought back, police said.
Police are hoping witnesses might have seen the man running from the home. ER
The Easy Reader - February 3, 2005
The year 2004 saw a
record number of arrests in Hermosa -- 1,388 -- topping the old record of 1,315
set the year before. Those high-water marks go back at least to 1991, when the
Hermosa Beach Police Department began keeping detailed arrest records, Chief
Mike Lavin said.
The downtown area with its active and sometimes rowdy nightlife has contributed
to the increased arrests, Lavin said. That is a reflection, I would have to
say, of the downtown. We have so much activity there, he said.
In addition to those figures, which cover the arrests of adults, police also
made 20 arrests of juveniles last year, down from 28 the year before. Parking
citations soared from 46,800 in 2003 to 51,137 last year.
As usual, the most serious types of crime occurred seldomly. Reported sex crimes
dropped from 11 in 2003 to seven in 2004. Incidents of robbery by force or fear
rose from 13 to 20.
As in most years, no murders occurred in Hermosa in 2004. One murder occurred
the year before when a 25-year-old Hermosan was shot as he sat behind the wheel
of a car at Pacific Coast Highway and Pier Avenue. That crime, which occurred in
March 2003, remains unsolved.
The number of assaults rose barely in 2004, from 140 the previous year to 143.
Burglaries of buildings and cars dropped from 143 to 140. Theft, which covers
the grabbing of stray bicycles and the like, dropped from 388 to 359. Auto theft
decreased from 56 to 45.
DUI arrests dropped from 285 to 164, a decline for which officials could offer
no immediate explanation. In another possibly downtown-related development,
misdemeanor citations ballooned from 989 to 1,419. Disturbance calls to police
rose from 3,025 to 4,201.
Once again there were no fatal traffic accidents in Hermosa. ER
Hermosa Beach Crime Statistics - 1998 to 2004
Criminal 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