You can’t categorize Le Garage Home & Garden in any single way. The shop on Pacific Coast Highway—easily recognizable from the street by the curved green awning and decorously arrayed windows—stocks antiques like stately armoires, wonderful old vanities and mirrors fit for the Palace of Versailles, as well as things for the garden like stone sculptures, potting benches and a bistro set. Interested in shabby chic? The distressed tables, ornamental sconces and big, upholstered stools are right up the shabby chic alley. “A lot of people have shied away from using that term,” owner Bret …

Tom Lasser served as a helicopter pilot; Pete Whalon as a lifeguard; and Rick Parker as a combat photographer. The three were among the local Vietnam veterans who posed for pictures in front of clumps of bamboo at Redondo Beach Veterans Park last Thursday. The all-day event was to record the faces and stories of South Bay veterans for a new book on the war by Tom Sanders, 27, whose first book, The Last Good War: The Faces and Voices of WWII, was named non-fiction book of the year in 2010 by Forewords Review Magazine and praised by Publishers Weekly. Sanders—a slender, soft-spoken man who …

Jovan Orozco, 17, has been accepted to the University of Southern California, Notre Dame and the University of Pennsylvania. He's on the waiting list at Harvard. Nearly four years ago, the Redondo Union High School senior, a straight-A student since the start of his junior year, made a life-changing decision to take the hardest classes after he saved a girl from drowning. While catching some rays on the beach three summers ago, Jovan heard a girl screaming for help. “She was drowning,” Jovan, who tried to attract the life guard’s attention, told Patch during an interview last week. “He was …

Imagine an iPad or iPhone app that allows you to be in two places at the same time—one a virtual world, the other reality. You could as easily stand on Pier 54 today and watch the Carpathia sweep into New York Harbor with Titanic survivors aboard 100 years ago, for example, as view your planned Redondo Beach home before it is built on an empty lot overlooking The Esplanade. If Mark Skarulis has his way, Circa, which is scheduled to launch at the App Store in September, will make all that possible and more. “Circa means 'around' (and is) used when talking about a time frame, such as circa 1920…

Try it, I dare you. Take a half-pound burger strewn with bacon, Chinese barbecue sauce, Shishito peppers and piles of crispy pepper onions on a pan de mie bun—and eat it while standing in the parking lot of Catalina Liquors on Catalina Avenue in South Redondo Beach. It can’t be done, trust me. I had to go dine in my car, and even that didn’t prevent me from dribbling barbecue sauce into my lap as I tried to compress the burger into something resembling a manageable bite. I ended up eating the burger topless—minus the top bun, that is. Five napkins later, back inside the liquor store, I had to…

Back in 1986, just after he quit his administrative post at Hughes Aircraft in El Segundo, John J. Parsons experienced a metamorphosis that was “almost biblical,” he said. While at Hughes, Parsons had zoomed up the corporate ladder, progressing from the Data Systems Group, where he worked in quality assurance on defense-related optics (infrared equipment, laser ranger finders); purchasing, where he “traveled like crazy” all over the world; and heading an engineering department with $100 million worth of contracts. Despite loving the work, especially solving critical engineering issues, …

Accompanying eight, super-hyped-up girls, all 12 or 13, to the opening night of The Hunger Games isn’t for the faint of heart. Especially when the girls scream with glee and applaud at the brutal murders of kids their own age. Note: Spoiler Alert! My granddaughter, Jordan Fideler, 13, of Redondo Beach, couldn’t contain her joy when one teen was torn to pieces by ferocious hounds. “I actually cheered when Cato was thrown off the cornucopia,” she said, clapping her hands in the ecstasy of the moment. (More on characters and plot later.) As for the four adult chaperones, we were as anxious to …

Don’t let the pricey copper cookware, fancy Japanese knives and aged Balsamic vinegars fool you. The Catalina Cooking Store is all about quality, yes, but it’s also about simplifying the process of food preparation. If Don Koeberle, owner of Riviera Village’s newest addition to Catalina Avenue, has his way, he and his staff will not only take the mystery out of cooking, they will demonstrate why less is more. "I want to try to get people to understand (that) if you know just a few simple things, you can make anything," said Koeberle, 46, who launched his retail store without fanfare on March …

Designer duds displayed along with jeweled clutches, candelabras and vintage furniture (all for sale) in an ambiance of style and panache would be draw enough, if that were all ReVamp Boutique and Glam Lounge had to offer. But the beauty of the shop on Avenue I in Riviera Village is that it offers so much more—everything from a shampoo and blowout to full makeup application and false eyelashes, and even private "Girls Night Out" and "Tweener" parties. The ReVamp Happy Hour—every Friday from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m.—allows the curious to peruse fringed handbags and slinky gowns, size up a vintage …

Justin Hopkins, the Redondo Beach resident now competing for a recording contract on The Voice, says there is a major difference between the NBC reality show that airs Mondays at 8 p.m. and Fox’s American Idol. "Idol is looking to find new singing talent," Hopkins, 31, said. "The Voice is about finding established artists … giving them a platform. Most people on the show have had proven professional success." With his reddish beard, spiked hair and bawdy laugh, Hopkins, who sizzles with stage presence, is a perfect example of the latter. Performing professionally since his undergraduate days …

A few years ago, after the economy plunged and I with it, I decided to sell some gold jewelry—a watch and necklace that had resided in my jewelry box for years. Although I don’t wear gold, the pieces had belonged to my late mom and had sentimental value. When my daughter expressed no interest in the items, I figured that selling them was my mom’s way of saying, “Let me help you out, honey.” As it almost always does during a recession, the price of gold was beginning to soar. So without a single thought in my head about researching such a sale (and they call me a journalist), I hopped down to …

Inspired by his war-hero father, Michael Morales learned early to overcome obstacles and improve things—be they leaky pipes or the character and charm of a city. “I was raised by someone who only had one arm,” Morales, 54, said in the colorful surroundings of Harmony Works, the Redondo Beach gallery he owns with his wife Royce. “I learned to do things differently.” Morales spoke movingly about how his father, Adolfo, a sergeant major in the U.S. Army, continued to give cover to fellow soldiers after losing his left arm in a firefight with the Germans in WWII, only to see his “leg pretty much …

It is common in Australia and Europe and all the rage in Sweden—home delivery of everything you need to prepare three to five dinners per week, including recipes corralled from around the world. Though the type of service is pretty much unheard of in this country, the genius behind Sofi’s Grocery Bag is that it not only saves time, money and waste—the meals also take less than 30 minutes to prepare and are guaranteed healthy and fresh. That’s because Sofi Sullivan, 38, who imported the idea from her adopted Sweden, avoids all processed foods in her menus and has a leg up where shopping is …

You couldn’t have asked for better weather for the 34th Annual Super Bowl Sunday 10K/5K Run/Walk, a major fundraiser for the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce. Billed as "Presented by Kaiser Permanente," the event, which cost more than $200,000, came together through the efforts of hundreds of people ranging from local police officers to the public works department. Related: Thousands Turn Out for Super Bowl 10K Some workers had to struggle out of bed at an ungodly hour to make it to Seaside Lagoon by 5:45 a.m. to help out with registration. Volunteers, including Cindy Harris of Hermosa Beach…

Until age 8, Jerry Pellegrino was legally blind, unable to see anything further than four inches away. It took five operations—three on his left eye and two on his right—to correct his vision. After gaining his sight, Pellegrino, one of a pair of identical twins growing up in Plainfield, NJ, asked his parents for piano lessons. In fact, he and his brother, Jim, whose sight was unaffected, “demanded” lessons, he said. “We used to listen to Lawrence Welk, and my father used to play John Philip Sousa [band music] every Sunday morning,” he said during a recent interview at a local coffee shop. …

At 85, Patricia Allen Dreizler is a scary lady. Her mind is so nimble that she can dredge up short- and long-term memories of Redondo Beach—whether social, economic or political—faster than one can blink. It’s why her phone still rings with people, including community officials she’s mentored over the years, asking her advice or wanting her to serve on some board or other. But Dreizler’s 30-year career in public service—she rose from a part-time recreation leader to become the first female department head in the city’s history—is only a small part of why she was selected as a Patch Greatest …

Whether surprising your Valentine or hosting a Super Bowl party, you might want to consider a Friday "date night" prior to either event. It would entail learning how to whip up tangerine bourbon Sidecars and herb-crusted lamb chops or Cuban empanadas and chickden sliders while enjoying the food and the cocktails along with the lessons. Or, if you are a corporate executive looking to build camaraderie among your sales team, a wine tasting during an evening of making dried-fig-and-goat-cheese tarts might offer a unique bonding experience. It’s all part of Simple Gourmet, a Redondo Beach …

How do toys learn to be toys? They have to go to toy camp. Kid-friendly Toy Camp—a musical written and directed by former Redondo Union High School drama teacher Paul Collette—stars an ensemble cast of RUHS students in roles ranging from Jig and Saw (two puzzle pieces who can't get along) to Toy Soldier (a stumbler who can't get the hang of marching) to Prima Donna (a ballerina who can't pirouette without falling on her face). Youngsters in the audience are encouraged to sit up front on the floor for the hour-long toyfest that runs Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, starting at 6 p.m. at the …

Last week, I got to wondering what I would resolve if I were living in Babylon some 4,000 years ago. That’s how long New Year’s resolutions have been around, according to historians, including those who dabble on Wikipedia. As a Babylonian, would I resolve to stop sacking and pillaging for kicks? Maybe abandon my hopes of reigning over all of Mesopotamia? Stop griping about the Goddess of Inspiration messing with my pottery-making attempts? Wary of making resolutions myself (I can't seem to wait to break them), I am going to go out on a limb this year—I vow to say "yes" a lot more and look …

When Marna Smeltzer decided to apply for a job as a receptionist at the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce in 1986, she was a single mother raising two children and working two jobs. Little did she dream that by 1995, she would step into the shoes of the man who first hired her, Ernie O’Dell, who vacated his post as president and CEO of the chamber to become Redondo Beach's city treasurer. "I have to tell you my favorite Ernie story," Smeltzer, 60, said, eyes twinkling devilishly as she spoke of an episode that occurred in 2000. It happened during a business exchange trip to China in which O'…