Community News

Metro has produced a video to highlight the second full closure of the I-405 during the weekend of Sept. 29 and Sept. 30, also dubbed Carmageddon II. During the closure, the north side of the Mulholland Bridge will be demolished. When finished, the bridge will be about 10 feet wider and seismically retrofitted to the latest standards. It will be the third bridge demolished and reconstructed in  order to widen the 405 Freeway and add a northbound carpool lane through  the Sepulveda Pass.

From Sept. 15 to Sept. 16, there’s a full northbound directional closure from the Getty Center ramps to the U.S. 101 from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. The Mulholland Bridge will also close from that Friday at 10 p.m. to Sunday at 8 a.m. that weekend for roadway alignment and elevation adjustment.

Ramps will begin closing as early as 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 28, within the freeway closure limits. Lanes will begin closing as early as 10 p.m. on Friday.

Full closure of the I-405 begins Saturday at 12:01 a.m. The northbound I-405 is closed from the I-10 to U.S. 101. The southbound I-405 is closed from the U.S. 101 to the Getty Center Drive ramps. The Mulholland Bridge and Haskell ramps close, as well as northbound U.S. 101 connectors from the I-405.

The I-405 is scheduled to reopen Monday, Oct. 1, at 5 a.m.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZbDwnvMB_o

As a city, Redondo Beach ranked 12th in total assessment values, according to the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office. In Redondo Beach, the year-to-year change was an increase of 2.7 percent.  Redondo Beach ranked at No. 12 in the county with a total assessment of $12.372 billion. Neighboring Manhattan Beach ranked No. 11 with a total assessment of $12.713 billion. Between 2010 and 2011, the city saw its assessment values increase by 1.4 percent. The city with the highest year-to-year increase in the county was Beverly Hills, which had a 6.5 percent jump. Rolling Hills saw the second highest at 6 percent. The total assessment of properties in the county is more than $1.13 trillion, a $24.8 billion jump over last year, according to the Assessor’s Office. When tax-exempt assessments and state-funded homeowners’ exemptions are factored in, the county’s net assessment roll is $1.079 trillion, up 2.2 percent from last year.

On the first Friday of every month, downtown businesses will extend their hours to 9 p.m. for Downtown After Sundown. Come spend the day shopping like a local at our variety of nearly eighty retail stores.The monthly event features special offers, discounts, music, giveaways and other fun things to do. Select stores, restaurants and businesses below Valley Drive, west to the pier and surrounding streets,will be participating. You’re encouraged to mix, mingle, meet up with old friends and make a few new ones – it’s a great way to kick off the weekend! Take a stroll with the kids to the Roundhouse Aquarium at the end of the historic Manhattan Beach Pier. Rent bikes to ride our paved beach-front bike path, or just roll up your pant legs and collect seashells at low tide. This is a popular event, so if you plan on making a night of it and having dinner at one of the many fine dining establishments, reservations are highly recommended.

This Labor Day weekend closes out Fiesta Hermosa’s 40th year as an event that helped make this beach town famous as a festive place to take in the surf and sun and showcase what living along the coast is all about.  Since 1972, the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce has produced Fiesta Hermosa, the ”largest arts & crafts fair in Southern California”. Over 400 artists and crafters are featured, including painters, photographers, ceramicists, jewelers, sculptors, and handicrafters. This year’s organizers expect about 150,000 people throughout the weekend. Fairgoers rave about our Food Court, which offers 18 different kinds of ethnic food choices. Everything is delicious – from roasted corn to Thai, Greek, and Mexican food, to tri-tip sandwiches and barbequed sausages, to the Hermosa Beach Lifeguards’ famous fish tacos. In addition to the two stages of live music and a variety of food, there will also be The Kiddie Carnival, which features a 30-foot slide, rides and games for children less than 10 years old. There will also be a petting zoo, pony rides and face painters. Fiesta runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. all three days. Free shuttle bus service will run daily from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. from the Northrop Grumman parking lot on Aviation Boulevard about two blocks north of Marine Avenue in Manhattan Beach. Hermosa Cyclery’s bike valet will be open from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. each day south of the Hermosa Beach Pier. The Los Angeles Kings Ice Crew will also make an appearance on Monday, Sept. 3, from noon to 5 p.m. at Fiesta Hermosa. For more information, visit www.hbchamber.net.

Redondo Beach is on CNN Money’s list of the “best places for the rich and single. Slightly more than one-third of Redondo Beach residents are unmarried, according to the website, and the city’s median family income is $118,525. The report begins in the Hollywood Riviera, once the playground for Hollywoods elite. Then goes on to say the city maintains the feel of a seaside resort. where you can catch a few rays on the beach, then head to the King Harbor Marina and the Pier to price out a yacht or fish for millionaires. Redondo Beach is ranked No. 5 on the list, which includes 25 cities from across the country and nine from California. Redondo Beach was the No. 1 California city. Other Southern California cities that made this year’s list were Santa Monica and Irvine.

“Cruise at the Beach.” every Friday night at Ruby’s Diner parking lot starting at 3 p.m. Redondo Beach is transformed into a car lover’s paradise. Vintage Cadillacs, Buicks, Corvettes, and every car in between. The car show began in 1997 with only 12 to 15 cars. Now, close to 250 show up every week. People from across the South Bay come to show off their cars, or drool over something they wish was parked in their garage. The show is open to everyone, you don’t have to own a pre-1970 to join the show, You can bring any car you want down here as long, as it’s nice. In the old days these cars had personalities – there are muscle cars, street rods, hot rods, and trucks. Each one of them with their own qualities.

Redondo Beach Unified School District students and employees may see up to 17 furlough days during the 2012-2013 school year if neither of two tax initiatives on the November pass. The two measures on the ballot—Proposition 30 and Proposition 38—both call for tax increases to support schools. Proposition 30, introduced by Gov. Jerry Brown, calls for a quarter-cent increase in the state sales tax and raises taxes on the state’s top earners. Molly Munger’s Proposition 38 increases state income tax rates for most Californians for 12 years. If either of the November ballot initiatives pass, there will be no additional furlough days, but if both of them do not pass, an there will be up to seventeen total furlough days, depending on the amount of cuts to the budget the school district will face. In addition to hoping that at least one of the two tax measures benefiting education on November’s ballot pass, the district also hopes that Redondo Beach residents will pass a $63 million bond to help indirectly close RBUSD’s $2 million budget shortfall.

Summer is almost over, so take advantage of the gorgeous weather and enjoy a night with your neighbors, friends, and family. Hermosa Beach Friends of the Parks presents the animated flick “The Smurfs” Saturday, August 24th, at Hermosa Valley Park,Valley Drive at Gould, as part of the Movies in the Park series. Venue opens 4 p.m., the movie starts at dark. Popcorn and hot dogs will be available. No pets or alcohol, a $5 donation is suggested for everyone 4 and older; blankets and beach chairs are encouraged, but no high-backed chairs. Proceeds benefit Friends of the Parks, which makes improvements to Hermosa parks.

Another signal that the housing market is turning around: Statewide, more than 7,700 homes sold for $1 million or more in the April-June quarter, a nearly 80 percent jump from the previous three months and 18.5 percent higher than a year earlier, according to Dataquick. The quarterly sales figure was the highest since the July-September period in 2007. Part of the jump could be due to a general increase in prices, pushing a home that had been valued in the high six figures to $1 million or more. The vast majority of homes – 5,100 – were in the $1-million to $2-million range, while only 188 were sold for $5 million of more. As you can see from the list below, provided by DataQuick , Manhattan Beach had the largest number of million-dollar sales in Southern California, followed by Newport Beach, Beverly Hills and Rolling Hills Estates. Ranking below is by ZIP code, location, number of sales in quarter and most expensive home.

94010 Hillsborough 134 $5.28 mill.
95070 Saratoga 126 $5.35 mill.
90266 Manhattan Beach 119 $5.50 mill.
92660 Newport Beach 110 $7.20 mill.
95014 Cupertino 105 $2.45 mill.
94024 Los Altos 102 $6.00 mill.
94025 Menlo Park 100 $4.80 mill.
92037 La Jolla 98 $7.05 mill.
90210 Beverly Hills 97 $34.50 mill.
90049 Brentwood 96 $9.95 mill.
90274 Rolling Hills Estates 87 $5.80 mill.

The skate park is located next door to Hope Chapel, at Pacific Coast Highway and Artesia Boulevard. The building that once housed an Albertsons grocery store. Hope Chapel runs the park at no charge to the kids. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday night the “Hope Chapel Skate Church” provides junior high and high school kids street style features like fly boxes, quarter pipes and seven-stair, and parallel ledges. This is a far cry from the typical hassle of having to jump fences at local high schools and dodge security guards to ollie a ten-stair. The parks success can be measured not only by its popularity with skaters, but also by the impact it has had on Hope Chapel’s mission to provide a positive direction for local kids. Check out photos, video and get all the details at www.skatehope.com