South Bay Echo for April 2
Redondo settles waterfront suit, a South Bay crime wave, Ridley-Thomas convicted, and Jackson the go-getter
Welcome to the 51st edition of South Bay Echo, your source of local hometown news with a real estate angle.
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Redondo settles waterfront lawsuit
The day finally came last week when Redondo Beach settled for $2 million a lawsuit brought by disgruntled developer CenterCal properties. The lawsuit puts to an end five years of litigation where CenterCal initially asked for $20 million.
The lawsuit alleged breach of contract after Redondo pulled out of a massive redevelopment deal. The project was ultimately defeated after a wave of public opposition and a rejection by the California Coastal Commission.
It was painfully obvious at the time the waterfront project came forward that it did not have popular support. Fully aware of the proposed ballot measure, a majority on the city council at the time pushed the project through, setting up Redondo for the protracted legal fight that just ended.
At the same time, they paid $9 million to close the Fun Factory. I still can’t get over this. They spent OUR tax dollars to CLOSE the Fun Factory. Everytime I think about this, it just blows my mind. Our beloved Fun Factory. I miss it so much. I would spend $9 million to open it back up again.
Now that the lawsuit is finally over I am looking forward to seeing what new plans are in store for our beautiful waterfront.
South Bay crime wave
There have been so many shootings and burglaries in the South Bay in recent weeks it’s hard to keep track. In case you were not making a tally, here’s a brief rundown of all that’s gone down.
Six businesses in downtown El Segundo were burglarized in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 25. Police are still looking for two suspects in the case.
A few days prior, around 6 p.m. on March 22, a smash and grab robbery took place at Pasha Fine Jewelry similar to others that occured last year. Police later apprehended suspects in the case.
Then around 5:30 a.m. on Friday, March 31, a Redondo Beach man was shot by a guy stealing a car with two others. The victim is expected to survive, and three suspects are wanted in the case.
In addition, on Saturday March 11, a shooting took place at South Bay Galleria while people were shopping.
Meanwhile, as all this was going on, several school shootings rocked the nation once again. I fear it’s all just become too normal.
Unable to keep track and bound by our political gridlock, we are a nation caught in the headlights while crime and violence continue to creep closer to home.
Mark Ridley-Thomas convicted
Mark Ridley-Thomas can now add a new title to his long list of accolades, that is “disgraced” career politician. The longtime Los Angeles politico was found guilty of corruption this week for trading votes in exchange for a job at USC for his son.
While he was acquitted on a dozen other fraud charges, Ridley-Thomas was convicted of conspiracy, bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud. As a result, he will likely spend several years in federal prison. Quite a fall from grace for the steadfast politician who always seemed so smooth and calculated.
Many in the Black community are not seeing the conviction as justice. Ridley-Thomas is still viewed as a representative who delivered for his district. Some questioned, such as this columnist in the LA Times, whether the punishment really fit the crime.
After all, Ridley-Thomas’ transgressions did not appear to harm the public. And they were far less severe than charges brought against Jose Huizar and Mitch Englander last year by the same team of federal prosecutors.
Hire this go-getter, Jackson
Just when you thought the younger generation couldn’t be bothered to step away from their computer screens, you run across a real go-getter. I saw this neatly made flier steadfastly secured to a light post and thought, “Now this kid knows how to get shit done.” He also seems really motivated.
I think Jackson would make a great worker for just about anything, though he acknowledges certain limitations at age 12. Maybe someone has some extra work or you need a house/pet sitter. His phone number is 310-616-6360. Email JacksonGetting528@Gmail.com. And he even put the email address of his parents for reference. How cute... Roliu77@yahoo.com
All for now… thanks for reading.
That $9M payoff to the owner of the Fun Factory became over $14M when it was financed. If you add in seven years of lost lease revenue, you are up to $17M-$19M. Just a few days later the same Council approved a lease commitment (called the ALPIF) with CenterCal despite the looming Measure C election results just 35 days away. Even the City Attorney warned the Council they did not need to approve the ALPIF that night. Now that has cost us $2M plus attorney fees to date. And we forfeited payback from CenterCal for the EIR that was voided by a judge.
In their blatant disregard for their constituents and their fiduciary responsibility to protect city revenues and finances, Emdee, Horvath, Barbee and Aspel cost us over $25M needlessly. We will be paying that bill for over a decade to come. The failed, illegal CenterCal mall-by-the-sea has got to be one of the most costly travesties in the history of Redondo Beach… what a great legacy for the that Council. This is why elections matter.
School shootings...RBUSD had better follow Torrance's lead ASAP to secure our front doors with at least buzzers and a default locked position, let alone steel gates. Every single school site is a too open door policy ready to be exploited for any reason, let alone an active shooter.