Beach
Schools bring back teachers, programs
After adopting a “stable” budget last week, the Manhattan Beach Unified School Board voted to bring back a baseline form of some popular programs that had been cut, reinstating about 10 fulltime positions.
After losing $4.7 million in revenues since February, the school board was forced to lay off more than 80 teachers and classified employees [...]
Ward sets eyes on Assembly
Mitch Ward sure is well known around these parts.
As a six-year councilmember, former Planning and Cultural Arts commissioner, founder of the Manhattan Beach Youth Recognition Award, member of at least 15 civic organizations, boards and local committees and the owner of a high tech service company headquartered in the city, he tends to run into [...]
11-year-old finds his calling as a violinist
by Aviva Gat
On May 17, Leonard Chong played his violin in the Edith Knox Performance Competition against people up to the age of 25, including students at the University of Southern California. The audience was huge, but he wasn’t nervous. He just wanted to make sure he stayed focused and didn’t mess up. As one [...]
About Town
Farewell
Mira Costa High School’s orchestra director Christopher Schwabe was honored on June 16 as he retires after seven years with the district. The orchestra program began in 2002 with merely a dozen students when Schwabe was coaxed out of retirement and asked to become the director. He expanded the program tenfold and directed the Mira [...]
Council cuts $1.5 mil in programs
After 25 hours of scrutinizing each city department’s expenditures line-by-line, the City Council approved the 2009-10 budget with nearly $1.5 million in expense cuts.
To balance the budget, the council scaled back the Community Police Academy, an employee wellness program, employee recognition programs, city employees’ conference attendance and the public education budget.
The council suspended popular community [...]
A Happy Ending
Michael Locke was riding his bike home from the beach on Aug. 27, 2007 when he was hit by an SUV at the corner of 11th Street and Poinsettia. He remained in the intensive care unit of Harbor-UCLA Hospital for five weeks and spent another four and-a-half weeks in rehabilitation at Children’s Hospital.
He returned to [...]
About Town
Green first
Manhattan Beach became the first city in the South Bay to adopt a sustainable building ordinance Tuesday night.
Under the new ordinance, municipal buildings or publicly funded projects of 5,000 square feet or more must attain the U.S. Green Building Council’s “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” or LEED Gold certification or better. All new [...]
City retailers ride out rocky times
The Cotter family has seen a lot of changes in the 75 years they’ve operated their Manhattan Shoe Repair store in downtown Manhattan Beach. But nothing as dramatic as the past six to 12 months, said store owner Bill Cotter.
“It used to be one person moved out and a new person came in a day [...]
Winemaker Mondavi praises MB wine auction fundraisers
The crowd around the tasting table at Paul Martin’s restaurant might have been any wine club or gathering of friends, but there was serious conversation along with the talk of appellations and bouquets.
“We’re concerned about the loss of funding for all the schools, particularly the enrichment resources, the kind of perceived extras that motivate kids [...]
About Town
Peck Avenue Meeting
Next Monday, the city will hold a community meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. to discuss the Peck Avenue Improvement Project, which is expected to begin in late June. The project will enhance Peck Avenue from Manhattan Beach Boulevard to Artesia Boulevard, where the pavement has deteriorated and tree roots have displaced the [...]
