2006

Note: This section is no longer actively maintained. Updates depend on member interest and help in supplying articles. The City's site and the latest issues of Easy Reader and The Beach Reporter and the Daily Breeze are useful sources for local news.

2001

Code Enforcement

The 6-21-2001 issues of the Daily Breeze (page B1) and The Beach Reporter (page 12) and Easy Reader (page 12) reported that the City Council, in approving a $77 million 2001-2002 budget, by a 3-2 vote also approved the hiring of a second code enforcement officer. Kurt Schmalz, newly elected Councilman District 4, had made the new code enforcement officer part of his campaign platform.

"A Tale of Two Barricades"

Note: On Tuesday, June 19, 2001, the Manhattan Beach City Council voted 4-1 to remove the barricade. A city crew tore out the concrete barrier on Wednesday. This event was front page news in the 6-21-2001 issues of the Daily Breeze and The Beach Reporter, as well as on page 10 of the Easy Reader. Although casting the lone dissenting vote, Councilmember Linda Wilson was quoted as saying, "I don't think the diverter is worth Word War III with Redondo Beach." The plan is to permit only left or right turns at the Aviation Blvd signal.

The Beach Reporter, June 14, 2001, p. 6.

Manhattan: Officials hope to resolve barrier dispute out of court (6/14)
By Cindy Yoshiyama

While city officials in Redondo Beach continue to consider taking legal action over a controversial traffic barrier in Manhattan Beach, Manhattan Beach officials this week said they will wait to see the results of traffic studies in the area before deciding whether the diverter should be removed.

"I think we'll come to some mutual agreement, but I don't think anyone had any ill intentions and we need to be mindful of being good neighbors," said City Councilman Steve Napolitano regarding the diverter that the city placed at the intersection of Second Street and Aviation Place in April.

Redondo Beach residents and officials say the barrier causes a potential safety hazard for cars forced onto Aviation Boulevard without the protection of a traffic signal. The diverter was approved by the Manhattan City Council in an effort to reduce cut-through traffic on Second Street and to force traffic back on to the arterial streets. At first, the barrier was approved on a six-month trial basis, which was then shortened to three months.

On June 5, Redondo city officials voted to explore legal remedies against the diverter.

Napolitano said this week that he had recently met with Redondo Beach City Councilman John Parsons, whose council district borders the street barrier.

"We sat down and discussed the issues, and we will both take them back to our respective councils," he said.

Parsons said that he offered to work with Manhattan Beach, but that legal action would commence if the barrier is not taken down soon.

"There is recognition that we all have traffic problems, but from a legal standpoint, we have a small window of time to take legal action," he said. "If it's not removed in that period of time, we will have to take legal action. However, we are trying to solve it without taking that step."

Manhattan Beach City Manager Geoff Dolan said he told Redondo Beach City Manager Lou Garcia in a conversation last week that the issue has been moved to next week's Manhattan Beach council agenda.

"I informed him that my council moved the issue up," he said. "My sense is that we've sped this up, so I told him that before you get too aggressive, let's see what happens at the next meeting."

On Tuesday, the Redondo Beach City Council took no further action on the barrier. At the meeting, Parsons did say that both cities need to sit down and discuss traffic problems that affect everyone in the community.

"We share borders, so we need to sit down as a community and work together to solve them," Parsons said. "We need to keep our fingers crossed and hope they decide to take that barricade down immediately."

Garcia added that police have been patrolling the area to ensure safety at the location.

Manhattan Beach City Councilman Jim Aldinger said he hoped that the disagreement would not be settled in court. "I think a lawsuit will not solve anything and there are a lot of things we can do before we reach that point," he said.

One possible alternative to the diverter, according to Manhattan Beach Mayor Walt Dougher, is a restricted light at the intersection that would only allow left or right hand turns onto Aviation.

"I would not be surprised if the diverter is not working well," he said. "It seems that an alternative would be a light that would not allow people to drive straight through Second Street. I think that would alleviate the concerns that Redondo Beach has. If the traffic counts show that the numbers have been the same (since putting in the barrier), then we're going to have to go to Plan "B'."

One possible action by the council, according to Dolan, would be to pull the barrier and ask city staff to come back with more alternatives.

Two sets of traffic counts have been taken in recent weeks, one of which was taken before the diverter was installed and one that was taken while school was still in session to get more accurate figures. The counts will be presented to the council June 19.

- Michael Hixon contributed to this story.

Electric Power/Energy Crisis

• "El Segundo power project heats up" by Paul Teetor, Easy Reader, April 12, 2001, p. 8.
• "Power coalition a gleam in mayor's eye" by Jason Dietrich, Easy Reader, April 12, 2001, p. 10.
• "Beach cities: Electricity problems discussed" by Garrison Frost, The Beach Reporter, April 5, 2001 (from beach.townnews.com/news)
• "Power summit sheds light on worsening crisis" by Jason Dietrich, Easy Reader, April 5, 2001, p. 12.
• "Manhattan revives Y2K team to meet pending power crisis" by Paul Teetor, Easy Reader, April 5, 2001, p.11.

Artesia Relinquishment from CalTrans

• "City grabs for problematic thoroughfare, $4.7 million for street repair" by Jason Dietrich, Easy Reader, February 22, 2001, p. 14.
• "Council finalizes Artesia transfer: Vote Tuesday night ends 13-year effort" by Michael Hixon, The Beach Reporter, February 22, 2001, p 1.

Aviation Park and Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center Improvement Project

Easy Reader 11-22-2001 page 12

The performing arts center takes shape

The transformation of Aviation is on schedule
by Mark McDermott

There's a different kind of choreography taking place at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center these days. For months at a time, the building is a construction site, with all the dusty carnage and general dishevel that $9.4 million worth of improvements can buy. But then - in a miracle befitting stagecraft - show time approaches, and the building is transformed again into a fine arts venue.

"I walked in there one time as we were about to get ready for a show, and it was like, oh no!" said James Blackman, the director of the Civic Light Opera. "It was very Dresden, very Beirut. It looked like a War zone. But I know what 40 people can do. You put a crew on it, and it gets done."

Even so, Blackman was stunned by the transformation he found when he returned a few days later.

"There was dirt that was left over from my high school that was gone," he said. "Graffiti I made with a Bic pen in 1971 was gone. We could have put the boy in the bubble in there it was so clean. I mean, NASA clean - 600 million metric tons of dust, gone."

"The general contractor and the city definitely do a dance," said Maureen Lull, a city engineer who is one of the project managers. Lull noted that every step along the way has been carefully planned to jibe with the schedule of the CLO and the Distinguished Speaker series. "We don't just let them go willy-nilly," she said. "It's a very well thought out process in terms of how you shut down buildings, how you reopen, and how you move from one space to the next.

If the switch between construction and high art has become almost a matter of routine at the renovation project, there is little that is routine about the project. A building that was designed as a high school auditorium will by next August emerge as a state-of-the-art theater. There are obvious changes, such as the new 4,000 square-foot lobby that is presently an array of beams in the front of the building. But to get an idea of the scope of the project, one has to look at the smaller changes: every light in the house has been replaced, a new sound system and new wiring have been installed, a genuine loading dock has been added, and a new stage floor and a new ceiling have been built.

Much of the work could only be done within the "windows" of time between major shows; for example, there was a gap between June and September in which most of the interior work was completed.

"When the ceiling was a mess and the stage floor was torn up, that's when people walked in and gasped," said Lull.

"The tougher part - knock on wood - of keeping up to schedule, interior-wise, is behind us," said Greg Kind, the director of Recreation and Community Services for the city.

Kind said the key to keeping on schedule has been the good communication between the city, the general contractor, and the architects. The city has at least two employees on site at all times towards this end - construction manager Tim Shea and the theatre's technical director, Jack Meyer - as well as the frequent attention of Kind, Lull, and project manager Michael Shay.

Lull said this has limited the amount of delays usually common on big projects when contractors have to wait out gaps in communication.

"The city made a commitment to having a city staff person on site all the time, " she said. "Not just an engineering project manager who oversees and comes to the site two or three times a day, but also someone who is here from the minute the gate opens until the last guy leaves. It really makes it go very smoothly. For the size and the scope of the investment the city is putting in here, I think it's well worth it."

The building will have an additional 16,000 square feet, with a new box office, indoor and outdoor concession stands, and an administrative support area. Other major undertakings include a new road, a storm drain, complete access for handicapped patrons, and the 'tuning' of the auditorium itself by acoustic specialists. Altogether, the general contractor, Culp Construction, will have used 64 different sub-contractors by the time the project is completed.

But perhaps the first thing noticed by patrons when the building is unveiled in its final form next year will be something more basic.

"We will finally have indoor plumbing!" said Lull.

"Indoor plumbing!" said Blackman. "There's not going to be a cement pond, but there will be indoor plumbing."

It may seem trivial, but this is a venue that seats 1,425 people and has only four indoor toilets, with additional temporary restroom facilities outside. Soon, the building will have 26 toilets for women, one family toilet, as well as 10 toilets and 11 urinals for men.

Blackman is ecstatic, but he does look back a little wistfully at the theatre's patched-together history. He recalled a time when a "slick salesman" type came up to him after a CLO show and inquired about the frequent recreation vehicle conventions that took place at the Performing Arts Center.

"What are you talking about?" asked Blackman. "I've never heard of such a thing."

But the man was insistent that at least four times a year he saw RV's congregated outside the building. Blackman walked outside and lo and behold, there was an entire row of RV's parked there. "It was like Burning Man," he said. "They would bring their own toilet to the shows. From 1992 to 1994, the happening and hip place for the over-60 set who drank scotch-on-the-rocks and smoked nonfiltered cigarettes was outside our doors. It was like a big tailgating party. I'd end up out there half the night."

All the same, Blackman is thrilled at the way the new building is taking shape. When he started his job, he faced a building with a serious toilet deficit, holes in the ceiling where occasional downpours could be seen in the spotlights, and such a small power capacity that a generator had to be brought in for shows.

"I scratch my head in wonder at how extraordinary this space is going to be," said Blackman. "All that's left for me to do is do the curtain speech and do good shows." ER

[Picture caption] The new lobby of the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Design and rendering by Rossetti Associate Architects.

• "Contract OK'd" by Michael Hixon, The Beach Reporter, April 19, 2001, p. 10: "The City Council also unanimously approved a $7,826,000 contract with Culp Construction for the Aviation Park and Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center improvement project. Phase one of the project includes the addition of a lobby and support area on the west side of the theater, the addition of restrooms and ADA access on the east side of the theater, the reconfiguration of the parking lot and the addition of an access road to Space Park Drive. Phase two includes the reconfiguration of the track, football field and general recreational play area along with the addition of an outdoor basketball and volleyball court."

By Garrison Frost

With California's energy crisis threatening to cause widespread blackouts throughout the state this summer, residents from all around the South Bay attended an energy summit last Thursday at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center to hear experts on the issue discuss the emergency's causes and brainstorm possible solutions.

While it was hoped that the event, hosted by the cities of Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach, would help develop ideas for ending the crisis, the discussion proved that the problem is far-reaching and won't be eliminated easily.

"This crisis is the single most important issue facing California's future," Redondo Beach Mayor Greg Hill told the audience of about 150. "I'm not standing here saying that I've got all the answers. I'm hoping that tonight we can have a constructive dialogue and move closer to resolving this important issue."

Sacramento Bee reporter Dan Walters, one of the event's guest speakers, described the electricity crisis as something akin to the movie "The Perfect Storm."

He said that several decisions and events beyond anyone's control had combined to create an energy crisis, economic crisis and political crisis all wrapped into one. In particular, Walters said that the decision to stop building new power plants in the 1970s, combined with the overly optimistic deregulation of the industry in the mid-1990s has created a problem that might not be solvable.

"This crisis is a kind of a canary in the mine," he said. "It's telling us that perhaps our political system is not working very well, that it has a difficult time dealing with complex issues."

Another speaker, UC Irvine professor Peter Navarro, was much more willing to place the blame on energy producers for the mess.

"We have a totally dysfunctional system which has allowed (producers) to withhold power and manipulate prices," Navarro said.

Navarro said that the only thing regular citizens can to do solve the problem is conserve electricity as much as they can, thereby eliminating the shortage of power.

After the opening speeches by these two, a discussion began among representatives of the electrical industry, who claimed that they have done nothing wrong or improper, and other experts, who continued to press the argument that the crisis has been manufactured by out-of-state energy-producing corporations.