931.
Couple things going on at the Manhattan Beach Creative Arts Center this Friday. At 3:30 p.m., the center will be celebrating the fourth annual California Arts Day with an open house that will include demonstrations and sales by local artists George Huante, Heidi Yancey, Hugo Haezaert, Racheal Wangul, Jen Till, Jean Pratt Beuoy and Clayton Fogle. Then, at 6:30 p.m., the center will host the opening reception of a show by students and faculty of the city's ceramics studio program. (Sept. 29, 2004)

930.
If there was ever a local art show that we wanted to see – but for vague, miscellaneous reasons never actually got to – "Metaphorical Books" at the Angels Gate Cultural Center was it. The show, which closed Sept. 26, featured handmade books by almost a dozen California artists. Oh well, can't see 'em all. (Sept. 28, 2004)

929.
Weird article in yesterday's Breeze about the declining number of gas stations in the South Bay – weird in that the author seems to want us to think it's a bad thing that there are fewer of these polluting, ugly, redundant businesses taking up prime commercial space. As if reasonably intelligent people are having trouble finding a gas station. We'd be tempted to say that this new trend might be good for the environment, but it doesn't take a genius to recognize that the day the industry decides that a lack of stations is convincing people to use green alternatives, you'll see more stations the next day. (Sept. 28, 2004)

928.
Of all the campaign signs going up around the South Bay, Greg Hill's are the best because they depart from the standard template in favor of a pleasant green and blue color scheme. He also gets bonus points for the nifty wave logo. Also trying to do something different is Congresswoman Jane Harman, whose graphic designer came up with an interesting branding idea – "J!" – and then buried so deep in the design that it's totally lost. The theme is unsuccessfully revived on her campaign website in the form of a scary cartoon graphic. It's hard to know whose sign is worse, hers or those of opponent Paul Whitehead, whose signs repeat his weird catch phrase "Whitehead Walks to Washington." Well, if he's counting on the voters buying him a plane ticket to Washington, he might as well start walking now. (Sept. 28, 2004)

927.
Although the race between Greg Hill and Mike Gordon for the 53rd Assembly District is proceeding pretty quietly on the street, it's generating a lot of heat among the state's political insiders. Some say Gordon's past as a sketchy fundraiser is catching up with him. Others say Hill's stint on reality television shows what a flake he is. It goes on and on. (Sept. 23, 2004)

926.
The South Bay needs art because ... (Sept. 22, 2004)

925.
So yes, let the ritual threatening to split the 310 area code continue. It has become one of our favorite exercises because – like reality television – it is dishonest yet sincere, and so has all the makings of compelling drama. We say dishonest because both sides lie through their teeth about their motivations, and everyone knows this, but joins the charade anyway. The industry-bought Public Utilities Commission continues to raise the issue of number shortage even though everyone knows that many hundreds of thousands of numbers are going unused. Telecom companies tell us that they are only responding to consumer need, and yet they clearly are only out to hoard numbers from competitors and have ardently fought every reasonable solution (i.e., their claim that using a different area code for wireless would be discriminatory). And consumer groups continue to make insubstantial claims about how changing the area code will cause emotional stress, endanger senior citizens and force small businesses to pay for new stationery, when everybody knows that the real reason we fight the area code split is our intuitive sense that the telecom companies are trying to use their money and influence to screw us. In the end, that's what makes this issue so fascinating – while we have been willing to give away so much to these phone companies, for some reason we have united to fight them here, on this issue, of all things. (Sept. 22, 2004)

924.
Driving through the beach cities the other day, we couldn't help but notice again that the area must be the stop sign capital of the world. At this rate, they might even have more stop signs than real estate agents in a year or two. (Sept. 22, 2004)

923.
There are life-long residents of the beach cities who have never been to Long Beach, couldn't point in the direction of Claremont and probably think of the Valley as a flat place (where people talk funny, no doubt) somewhere between where they live and San Francisco ... The Bubble. (Sept. 20, 2004)

922.
Random Lengths, the pugnacious bi-weekly out of San Pedro, has upgraded its website. It's still not an online version of the paper, but it does allow readers to view some articles, and there is a useful archive of past stories. What really interests us is the new Random Lengths Blog. Unfortunately, the blog hasn't done much more than cover the Republican Convention but we're hoping for the best. (Sept. 20, 2004)

921.
The 2004 election, according to Lloyd Dobler: "I don't want anyone who lies about anything, talks tough about anything or takes money for anything as a president. I don't want anyone who lies about talking tough or taking money, talks tough about lying or taking money, or takes money to lie or talk tough – you know – as a president." (Sept. 17, 2004)

920.
Running in South Redondo Beach yesterday, we were pleased to see the beach reopened after several days of being closed due to a sewage spill. The Health Department signs warning of the dangers of swimming were gone and plenty of people were taking a break from the heat by going in the water. This was all great news. Or was it? Watching this scene, we couldn't help but wonder if it isn't a little misleading to simply take the signs down. Wouldn't you, as a visitor to a particular beach, want to know if it had been closed the previous day for having high levels of unsafe bacteria? Isn't a beach that has just crossed the safety threshold for bacteria significantly different from one that has never been closed? (Sept. 15, 2004)

919.
New county seal designed by some guy from Torrance. (Sept. 15, 2004)

918.
Couldn't help but notice the mounting heat generated by Redondo Beach's proposal to rezone Torrance Boulevard to create some kind of mixed-use gateway into the pier area. Given the city's numerous failed efforts to revitalize the harbor area, isn't this a bit like giving up on a remodel and just buying new doors? Actually, this might just be a sly way to force the city to accept unpopular changes in the harbor area – as in, hey we've got new doors, now let's redo the house! Our opinion is that the city should just leave Torrance Boulevard alone. Trying to do some fancy-schmancy planning in that area just risks spreading the harbor redevelopment out too much for it to be a coherent destination. Rather, it will just be a hodge-podge with no identifiable "there." (Sept. 14, 2004)

917.
Now that the silly season is getting into full swing, we've had more than one local elected official who is not involved in the race complain to us about being hit up by candidates they don't even know seeking endorsements. "Some guy from the water district asked me to endorse him," said one local council member. "I told him 'I don't even know who you are.'" (Sept. 14, 2004)

916.
Found on the City of Redondo Beach website Monday: "Redondo Beach closed due to sewage spill. Pier and Harbor businesses remain open." Wouldn't it be better to say Redondo Beach's Beach? Or do they want to say that the whole city is closed? (Sept. 14, 2004)

915.
One of our favorite nonprofits, Heal the Bay, is gearing up for its annual Coastal Cleanup Day Sept. 18 at coastal sites all over the place. It's a good cause that anyone who lives with 2,000 miles of a beach should support. While we're talking about Heal the Bay, we should also point out that the organization does quite well from an aesthetic standpoint as well. We've seen a lot of posters for community events in our day, but none as cool as those neat vintage pieces for the Cleanup Day. Heal the Bay has been using this motif for several years. Also, who has a better logo than Heal the Bay? (Sept. 14, 2004)

914.
Now that we have observed the third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it's comforting to know that:

• All of the terrorists responsible for that attack have been brought to justice, especially Osama Bin Laden, and that we haven't gone off on any tangents and spent precious military resources defeating enemies who had nothing to do with the attacks.
• After conducting a deep self-analysis, our government has reached agreement on our own individual and systemic mistakes, and has moved quickly to remove those who performed poorly and change our institutions to better handle such challenges in the future.
• We are confident this type of thing can't happen now.
• The world has come together with the United States to solve the problem of terrorism.
• The laughing hyenas in our own government have put aside their petty self-interest.
• Our fight against terrorism hasn't become just another way for corporations to profit from government contracts.
• The people of our country have been brought together under a common cause, putting aside the meaningless divisions of the past. (Sept. 13, 2004)

913.
Now that August is fading fast, and Labor Day is out of the way, Los Angeles is making its annual descent into that sinister mood for which it is well known ... Noir is now. (Sept. 10, 2004)

912.
Every election year in the South Bay, voters are briefly introduced to some hopelessly underqualified and underfunded chump who chooses to vie against a Democratic incumbent. This year's patsy is – drumroll please – Paul Whitehead, who's going after Congresswoman Jane Harman's seat. Be sure to check out his online video that shows the candidate on Hermosa Beach's pier plaza telling voters he's not a politician, and then go to his website bio that does nothing but talk about his work for the Bush/Quayle ticket in 1988. Get to know his policy positions – which seem to come straight off AM talk radio. And be sure you do it quick, because all of these random Republicans seem to vanish off the face of the earth after Election Day. (Sept. 9, 2004)

911.
The ninth annual Manhattan Beach Arts Festival will be held this Sunday, Sept. 12, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the city's downtown. Manhattan Beach is to be applauded for keeping this cultural event going so long – Remember Hermosa's First Night? See the city's website for more information, or read this article from the Breeze. (Sept. 9, 2004)

910.
Stop worrying, you tell yourself. This is stupid. You're getting yourself worked up over nothing. You wonder if you're suffering from paranoia or schizophrenia or one of the other –oias or –isms. For the rest of the morning, the strange feeling persists, but you do your best to ignore it and act as though nothing is out of the ordinary ... The Strange Day.

909.
Screenwriter and South Bay native David Twohy to will talk about writing at this Saturday's meeting of the Surfwriters in Palos Verdes. Here's the story from the Daily Breeze. (Sept. 3, 2004)

908.
Now that standardized tests place the Manhattan Beach Unified School District among the leaders in student achievement (link expires Sept. 9), we will likely hear the chorus again that, despite revelations of budgetary ineptitude and downright deception, the district's former leadership was actually doing a great job where it counted. Indeed, the contradiction is not easily resolved, but things become clearer when one realizes that with their resources and supportive community, Manhattan Beach district officials would be hard pressed to avoid high test scores. Just look at the test scores these incompetents got while blowing millions on construction overruns and travel perks. No, the real education heroes are the ones who get high test scores on limited resources in non-affluent communities that don't demand excellence from the schools. And it is safe to say that Manhattan Beach has had few, if any, of those heroes in recent years. (Sept. 3, 2004)

907.
Heard a rumor that Daily Breeze reporter Dennis Johnson is leaving the newspaper for work outside community journalism. Johnson recently has served the Breeze well as its Manhattan Beach/Hermosa Beach beat reporter. We wish him well in his new job. (Sept. 3, 2004)

906.
Do people use their money to get a hypocritical governor to agree to changes in the law that may end up screwing South Bay residents living near oil refineries? People do. (Sept. 3, 2004)

905.
We kind of like the Daily Breeze's much-needed new online look. The best upgrade is that news stories are presented in order of importance, rather than the old site's bizarre alphabetical prioritization. We're not that thrilled that the paper's above-the-fold Associated Press stories will take prominence over local news, but that's a philosophical issue that speaks more to the paper's editorial priorities. Nothing, however, tops this great line from the article announcing the changes: "Coming soon, new advertising initiatives will, we hope, allow you to make better consumer choices in the marketplace." We can only guess that this means more pop-ups, banner ads and paid advertorial – whoopee! Lastly, we can only hope that now the Breeze will turn its attention to the dismal websites of its community papers, The Beach Reporter and the Palos Verdes News. (Sept. 2, 2004)

904.
They will go to the Breakfast Places, the Places Where Everyone Goes, places that have Great Muffins, or The Best Pancakes, or Huge Omelets ... The Breakfast Eaters. (Sept. 1, 2004)

903.
Those who are pondering the long-floated rumor that the Daily Breeze is being set up for sale (possibly to the Tribune Company, which owns the Los Angeles Times) were probably interested last week to hear of the passing of Helen Copley, matriarch of the Copley newspaper dynasty which owns the Daily Breeze, among other holdings. If so, these rumor hounds probably didn't pay attention to the words of Copley's son, David, who has run the Copley Press since the 2001 retirement of his mother, that "I will proudly keep our newspapers going." On the other hand, his statement is open to any number of meanings, and the only thing one can truly glean from it is that he does not intend to close any newspapers. He does not specifically say that he will not sell any of them, just that he will "keep them going." So, the rumors will no doubt persist. (Sept. 1, 2004)

902.
The El Camino College Art Gallery is back in business after a summer break with the annual Faculty Show and Silent Art Auction to raise money for art education programs. The exhibition runs through Sept. 24. (Sept. 1, 2004)

901.
Looks like Redondo Beach Mayor Greg Hill, trailing big-time in both money and support to El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon in the 53rd Assembly District race, has won the all-important Race to Clutter Up the Community With Signs. That's right, you'll find Hill's new green and blue signs on just about every vacant lot, chain link fence and minimall light pole in the South Bay. And this is nothing -- Gordon has about four times as much money and hasn't even put up his signs yet. Ah, politics. (August 30, 2004)

900.
Unfortunately, we never were able to get over to Torrance's new new Cause and Effect Art Gallery this weekend for the opening of the Hollywood Bowl Sphere Art Project. We'll get in there before too long, however. (Aug. 30, 2004)

899.
Although it is easy to tire of his one picture after another of the Manhattan Beach pier and local lifeguard towers, John Post is one hell of a photographer. His work looks even better when viewed in its entirety. The Easy Reader this week profiles Post in advance of the final Hermosa Beach Art Walk this Thursday. But there is more to read and see on Post's website. It has always struck us as a little sad that Post's amazing photographs of foreign cultures get so little play around the South Bay, while hardly anyone is without a Post beach sunset hanging over the couch. Oh well, he's not complaining, so we won't do it for him. (August 27, 2004)

898.
The Breeze reports that work is beginning to repair major construction glitches in the Peninsula Center Library, nine years after "lavish" facility is opened to the public. (August 27, 2004)

897.
One finds random things on the Internet, including this odd little photo essay of Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach. (August 26, 2004)

896.
How many episodes of the new NBC series "LAX" will air before Los Angeles airport officials begin their PR campaign to reassure travelers that the airport is not nearly as rife with drug running, smuggling and terrorist threats as the show might imply? ... This, and a few other questions. (August 25, 2004)

895.
Supporters are anxious to begin renovations on Redondo Beach's "other" library. (August 25, 2004)

894.
Recently, the Los Angeles Times suggested that sex appeal was the reason that NBC showed so much women's beach volleyball during its prime time Olympics coverage. However, there might be a much simpler reason, which is that NBC owns a minority stake in the Association of Volleyball Professionals tour. This might explain why the network isn't showing nearly so much of the men's competition, where most of the teams favored to win gold play on the competing FIVB tour. (August 25, 2004)

893.
Ever since I began working in downtown Los Angeles, I have felt like I've been walking on air. Sure, the job's great and all, but the reason I feel that way has much more to do with the fact that I'm rarely, if ever, actually touching terra firma ... Up in the air. (Sorry about the dead link before, it should be fine now) (August 24, 2004)

892.
Talked about for years, Lawndale's giant sign along the San Diego Freeway is almost completed. And at 115 feet, with all manner of lights and such, this is not your ordinary freeway sign. On the one hand we are impressed by the sheer balls of putting up a giant metaphorical middle finger to the more affluent cities of Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach. Those weeping Redondo Beach residents should understand that the Lawndale sign is karmic justice for their own City Council striking a deal a few years ago with billboard operators to trade surface street signs that offended resident sensibilities for freeway-adjacent space that pretty much screwed everyone else. But alas, despite the elegant justice of the Lawndale sign, we have to think ill of it due to our general policy against anything that blots out the sky for commercial purposes. (August 23, 2004)

891.
According to studies done in 1999-2002, there are at least 108 intersections in the South Bay that are so crowded that "there may be substantial queues and delays with some vehicles waiting up to several intersection cycles to pass" or "subject to jammed conditions with long and unpredictable delays." Still, some intersections are worse than others. Using a variety of real and anecdotal data, The Aesthetic has determined the top 10 that the South Bay's worst intersections (in no particular order):

• Pacific Coast Highway and Imperial Highway
• Pacific Coast Highway and Rosecrans Avenue
• Pacific Coast Highway and Crenshaw Boulevard
• Aviation Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue
• Hawthorne Boulevard and Torrance Boulevard
• Gaffey Street and First Street
• Palos Verdes Drive West and Crenshaw Boulevard
• Artesia Boulevard and Inglewood Avenue
• Artesia Boulevard and Crenshaw Boulevard
• Artesia Boulevard and Hawthorne Boulevard

(August 23, 2004)

890.
For Beach Cities Health District officials to spin the fact that nobody filed papers to run against them – especially after the local press and the obscure district with a history of absurd spending decisions made no effort to notify residents of the deadline – as sign of what a great job they are doing is insulting crap (link expires Aug. 25). Anyone who has spent more than 10 minutes reviewing the history of this organization knows what a horrible job these board members are doing. The problem is that very few people have invested those 10 minutes. (August, 23, 2004)

889.
Just what exactly is Redondo Beach doing with the oceanfront along The Esplanade? While we're generally open to the idea of ecological restoration, we have to admit that the Beach Bluffs Restoration looks like shit. Apparently, what they meant when they said they would "revegetate" the hillside is that that they would tear up all the ice plant that isn't bothering anybody and replace it with weeds. You'll notice that none of the websites supporting this project shows anything other than extreme close-ups of flowers. If they showed the entire hillside – and people saw just how few and far between these flowers are – no one would ever go for it. Add to this the City Council's recent ban on radio controlled gliders, a marvelously overzealous response to some isolated incidents where the planes have hit people or cars. As if the gliders aren't one of the truly unique and cool things the Esplanade has going for it. They ought to be selling tickets, not banning the things. Really, if Redondo Beach is going to become the kind of place that creates a Draconian law every time a situation is less than perfect, the place will quickly become a joke. Look for the City Council to employ this same logic to ban bike riding, skating and walking – all of which occasionally cause disagreements and minor injuries as well. (August 20, 2004)

888.
Apparently, all of Palos Verdes is in perpetual danger of burning to the ground. (link expires Aug. 25) (August, 20, 2004)

887.
Reading the Daily Breeze of late, it would seem that Torrance residents are shocked, shocked that their city officials have approved so many new residential developments without really considering their impact. Our question is whether this new anti-development fervor will expand into other parts of the South Bay, particularly into the beach cities where one will find whole pockets of council members whose record on development looks every bit as bad as Torrance Mayor Dan Walker, who now faces a recall for his support of new development. (August 19, 2004)

886.
Things aren't looking so good for Redondo Beach Mayor Greg Hill, who is clearly trailing El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon in the race for the 53rd Assembly District. As of the end of June, Gordon had about four times as much money as Hill in the bank and was outspending Hill roughly two-to-one. But this post is really about their websites. It's interesting that Hill's campaign website shows the candidate in a handshake with der Gubernator – and actually attempts to link the two in terms of charisma and philosophy. As for Gordon's site, it's kind of amusing that when one types in the address (friendsofmikegordon.com), the site is transferred to a sub-directory of spinguys.com, which seems fitting. After all, Gordon is a spin guy. (August 19, 2004)

885.
It's easy for people who work in downtown L.A. to be mindful of airplanes crashing into the tall buildings, and not just because of 9/11. I remember well the first time I sat in a meeting in one of those glamorous window offices with a panoramic view of Disney Hall, City Hall, the Financial District and Staples – and thinking to myself, "Holy crap that airplane's low!" ... The downtown buzz. (August 18, 2004)

884.
So you really think real estate agents are looking out for you? Think again. (August 18, 2004)

883.
Things tend to slow down during the summer in the art world, and that's especially true in the South Bay, where the art world is uniquely slow to begin with. But sometimes very interesting things emerge during these hot summer months, and "Nine" at Hermosa Beach's Gallery C falls into this category ... We review "Nine" at Hermosa Beach's Gallery C. (August 17, 2004)

882.
Years ago – OK, maybe just 10 – a funky little magazine called Great God Pan emerged from the South Bay, spinning tales about obscure rock stars, forgotten cults and the desert. For an area drunk on property values and $100 jeans, the magazine was a perfect point of departure. Regrettably, the magazine drifted away. Anyway, the former publishers of the magazine have started a new website, and are putting up some of the magazine's old content, as well as some new stuff with that unmistakable GGP bent. We found this little bit about the Redondo Beach upbringing of Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme quite interesting. (August 14, 2004)

881.
In our former life as a newspaper editor, we worked quite a bit with Manhattan Beach surfer Jim Miller, who was a great guy who wrote from the heart on a subject he truly loved: surfing. If one can still use the phrase "soul surfer," one would have to apply it to Jim. We were blown away to read in the Easy Reader about his untimely death. He will be sorely missed. (Aug. 13, 2004)

880.
Hermosa Beach is now providing Wi-Fi to residents, for free. Given the amount of money that cities spend on total crap that accomplishes nothing, this is an incredibly worthy investment. Why doesn't every other town do the same? (Aug. 13, 2004)

879.
Ever wonder what became of those giant Frank Gehry balls at the Hollywood Bowl? Well wonder no more, because apparently they're coming to Torrace. Just got an email from Ron Harris, who is overseeing the opening of a new art gallery in Torrance called the Cause and Effect Art Gallery. The inaugural show at the new gallery will be the Hollywood Bowl Sphere Art Project, in which more than 80 local artists – including new and established artists as well as celebrities – created original works of art on pieces of the famous Hollywood Bowl spheres. The new gallery opens for business on Aug. 28 and we encourage everyone to check it out. (Aug. 12, 2004)

878.
We haven't had too much to complain about the Beach Cities Health District lately, but we couldn't resist the opportunity to point out that this is not the first election in recent memory that the district has canceled for lack of new candidates. We're not really sure which aspect of this amuses us more – that the district seems to go out of its way not to alert constituents when an election is near, that the local press never seems to publicize that the deadline for filing is nearing (and we bear some guilt in this), or that the district is so far off the radar that no one wants to run. Moreover, we would argue that if any local paper is going to do an article about the fact that no one filed to run in this election, it had better have run an article beforehand alerting residents to the approaching filing deadlines. If not, the article should come with an apology. (Aug. 12, 2004)

877.
Running barefoot in soft sand is one of the many pleasures to which we have access here in the South Bay. Not only is running in the sand a great workout, but it's one of those physical experiences – like surfing or swimming in the ocean – that transcends mere physical health value ... Soft sand running. (Aug. 9, 2004)

876.
We review "Watermedia Traditional/Experimental," currently showing at the Manhattan Beach Creative Arts Center. (Aug. 8, 2004)

875.
One often hears, in response to our complaints about development in the South Bay, is that certain changes are inevitable, that modern realities will dictate the disposal of historical assets, local tradition and character. One will certainly hear this from developers, who have a stake in the widespread acceptance of this notion. But also one will hear it often from civic leadership, elected and otherwise. And someone who has only experienced our particular brand of coastal development is very likely to buy into this theory. However, as we visit more and more coastal communities in California, it is obvious that there are other ways to do things. Some areas, such as Newport Beach, have obviously done a worse job of managing development, to the extent that these communities have absolutely no character of their own. But when you visit places such as Ventura, Santa Barbara and Carmel, you see places that have managed to maintain high property values without tearing their character or historical neighborhoods to shreds. These cities are proving that one does not need to let real estate agents and developers plan their cities -- and are doing much better because of it. (Aug. 7, 2004)

874.
"Political language -- and with variations this is true of all political parties from Conservatives to Anarchists -- is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable."

-- George Orwell
"Politics and the English Language"
(Aug. 7, 2004)