Mayor Gin Vetoes Advisory Vote

Mayor Mike Gin vetoes a vote directing city staff to come up with language for a citywide advisory vote on whether residents want to oppose repowering AES Redondo Beach.

Correction: An earlier version of this article indicated that Mayor Mike Gin did not veto a vote asking city staff to look into what it would cost for a citywide advisory vote. He did veto the direction to staff. We regret the error. Despite a 3-2 vote Tuesday night, Mayor Mike Gin vetoed the council's decision to ask city staff to develop language for a citywide advisory vote on whether residents want to oppose the repowering of AES Redondo Beach.  The current AES power plant on Harbor Drive must be retired by 2020 due to new state regulations on the use of once-through cooling, which involves using ocean water to cool the superheated steam that spins the natural gas plant's turbines. AES officials want to replace the aging plant with a …

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Nicole Mooradian

9:15 am on Wednesday, May 16, 2012

We've corrected the article to reflect that Mayor Gin did, in fact, veto the council's direction to staff.   more ›

SUV Hits Fire Hydrant, Rolls Over

A dark SUV hits four cars, crashes into a fire hydrant and flips over.

A driver was hospitalized late Tuesday night after the SUV he was driving rolled over in the 1800 block of Pacific Coast Highway near Prospect Avenue. Police and fire units from both Redondo Beach and Torrance responded to the scene and blocked off Pacific Coast Highway in the area around the crash site. At about 10:15 p.m., the dark-colored SUV hit four cars parked on the southbound side of Pacific Coast Highway before running into a fire hydrant and flipping the vehicle, according to police and witness reports. The man was ejected from the SUV. "We thought it was a gunshot, it was so loud," said Palos Verdes Inn guest Emma, who declined to give her last name. "By the time we got out here, he was on foot, trying to run away," said Angela …

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L.A. to See Solar Eclipse on Sunday

Before sunset, the Earth's moon will pass in front of the sun, casting a giant shadow across the land.

A solar eclipse is expected to be visible across much of the western U.S. on Sunday. In the hours before sunset on Sunday, the Earth's moon will pass in front of the sun. The eclipse will occur between 5:24 p.m. and 7:42 p.m. The last solar eclipse visible in the U.S. was in 1994. In Los Angeles, Sunday's eclipse is the most extensive since 1992, according to the Griffith Observatory, which is planning a public viewing. The Griffith Observatory's telescope will be outfitted with special filters, and viewing-glasses will be available for purchase. NASA warns that people should never observe a solar eclipse with the naked eye, only through filtered telescopes and special glasses. To learn more about the eclipse, visit NASA's website.

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Blossom Chronicles

Le Garage: No Ordinary Antique Store

Bret Blumenthal’s Le Garage Home & Garden in South Redondo Beach offers shabby chic antiques and custom-built furniture.

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 Blumenthal, 46, said. “They will use beach chic, cottage chic, or French country, something along those lines.” Regardless of what you call it, people come "…

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SoCalGas Warns of ID Theft Scam

People pretending to be representatives of the Southern California Gas Company are asking customers for their Social Security numbers.

Southern California Gas Co. warned its customers Monday about a scam in which the culprits tell victims they can get credits on their utility bills if they provide personal information such as a Social Security number. According to the gas company, scammers have visited customers in person, used social media sites and even sent text messages to victims claiming that President Barack Obama is offering a program of bill credits or direct payment of bills. SoCalGas officials said workers for the utility always carry proper identification when visiting customers, and they do not randomly call or text customers asking for Social Security numbers or other personal information. Customers should verify a person's employment before allowing anyone …

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Revised State Budget Cuts Billions

Gov. Jerry Brown unveils his revised budget for the state of California.

Gov. Jerry Brown proposed steep cuts across a variety of programs today to close a nearly $16 billion state budget deficit, but Los Angeles Unified School District and university officials said the impact on their budgets will remain unknown until November, when voters weigh in on proposed tax hikes. "We're going to have to cut deeper," the Democratic governor said in Sacramento while releasing his budget revision. "But cutting alone really doesn't do it," Brown said. "That's why I'm linking these serious budget reductions—real increased austerity—with a plea to the voters: Please increase taxes temporarily on the most affluent and everyone else with a quarter of a cent sales tax." Brown said the state's budget deficit ballooned to $15.7 …

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US Sailing to Investigate Aegean Crash

The five-member panel will look into why the sailboat was destroyed and three of its crew killed during the Newport Beach to Mexico race.

The U.S. Sailing Association, the national governing body for sailing, has appointed an independent review panel to investigate the crash of the Aegean during the annual Lexus Newport Beach to Ensenada Yacht Race. Pieces of the Aegean—a 37-foot Hunter 376—and the bodies of three of its crew were found floating in a two-mile debris field near the Coronado Islands on April 28. The skipper's body was discovered a week later. Theo Mavromatis, 49, of Redondo Beach; Kevin Eric Rudolph, 53, of Manhattan Beach; William Reed Johnson Jr., 57, of Torrance; and Joseph Lester Stewart, 64, of Bradenton, Fla. perished in the crash. According to a news release from U.S. Sailing, the U.S. Coast Guard in San Diego requested the organization convene the …

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