South Bay Echo for March 22

Redondo new Council, Ridley-Thomas mounts defense, Torrance pays for racist cops, Lunada Bay Boys lawsuit revived

Welcome to the 50th edition of South Bay Echo, your source of local hometown news with a real estate angle. My apologies for being away so many weeks.

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Redondo welcomes new City Council members

Credit: City of Redondo Beach

Redondo Beach will soon welcome two new City Council members elected earlier this month. Paige Kaluderovic will replace Christian Horvath representing District 3, and Scott Behrendt, who ran unopposed, will replace Laura Emdee in District 4.

Paige is a local resident and mother who said she was driven to run because the current council refused to fund a crossing guard at a North Redondo intersection. It might sound funny, but this sort of issues is often what motivates people to run for office. Behrendt, meanwhile, comes from the Planning Commission so he will be more familiar with the process.

If one thing this election showed it’s that very few people want to serve on the Redondo Beach City Council. And who can blame them with the endlessly meandering debates and meetings that last until 4 a.m? That’s why anyone who runs for City Council I’m immediately skeptical of their sanity. Just kidding, you guys. But seriously, maybe a little more debate structure with limited time would improve things.

Not to mention, Redondo Beach politics have become extremely toxic in recent years. It’s hard to say who started it and at this point it doesn’t really matter. I think doing something about that too on the part of both sides would do a lot to attract more candidates.

Ridley-Thomas defense begins this week

Credit: ABC7

The ongoing corruption case against suspended LA City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas shifts to the politician’s defense this week. His high-powered defense team was made possible thanks to a war chest of more than $1.5 million he accepted since charges were levied against him. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sit right with me. Hmmmm

Among the donors, according to the LA Times… “former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt ($25,000); fellow L.A. City Councilmember Curren Price ($1,000); Charles E. Blake, presiding bishop emeritus of the Church of God in Christ ($10,000); Bruce Karatz, former chief executive of KB Home ($10,000); and a slew of developers, ministers, bureaucrats and lobbyists or those affiliated with lobbying firms.”

As the trial reveals, this case is about Ridley-Thomas trying to help his son Sebastian after a less-than graceful exit from the state legislature. His son was apparently under investigation for alleged sexual harassment violations when he reassigned for health reasons.

In a quid pro quo, revealed mostly in emails and text messages, Ridley-Thomas would help out USC through votes on the Board of Supervisors in exchange for Sebastian receiving a scholarship and paid job as a professor.

It might seem that Ridley-Thomas was just doing what any loving father would do, but the problem came when he used his votes in public office as a bargaining chip. Nevermind that former dean Marilyn Flynn already pleaded guilty to corruption in the deal, Ridley-Thomas will mount a spirited defense.

For more see coverage in the LA Times by Matt Hamilton and Meghann Cuniff Substack.

Torrance pays $750,000 for racist cops

Credit: City of Torrance

Earlier this month, Torrance settled for $750,000 a case brought by a person who had their car spray painted with swastikas by two Torrance Police Officers.

The case represents the tip of the iceberg in a wide ranging investigation that uncovered loads of racist messages passed between Torrance officers. At least four were terminated or resigned and 15 were placed on leave, according to the Daily Breeze.

It’s difficult to even put into words how infuriating this case is. How there could possibly be 15 officers aware or contributing to this mentality, and they never spoke up until it was discovered by lawyers, is just unconscionable.

Since the George Floyd killing and protests across the nation, it’s hard to say that I have noticed any change in police officer mentality. We continue to see unjustified killings and we continue to read about racist behavior like that in Torrance.

They say it’s only a few bad apples, and I’m willing to believe that. In Torrance there were more than a dozen bad apples. Safe to say that was a bunch. At this point, until police officers start standing up for the good apples, it’s hard to believe that it’s only a few bad ones. I think I heard that somewhere else, LOL.

Lunada Bay Boys lawsuit revived

Credit: Wikicommons

In a story that just won’t go away, a California appeals court has revived a lawsuit against Palos Verdes Estates over the so-called Lunada Bay Boys.

I read this article at California City News about the ruling and couldn’t help but laugh. For one thing, to blame the city for the actions of some hoodlums on the beach is just ridiculous to me on its face. The argument is that the city condoned the harassment by allowing their makeshift structure to remain.

The court wrote… "We conclude a change in the access to water brought about by an organized scheme of harassment of, or similar impediment imposed on, those seeking access may be just as much a change in access to water as one brought about by a physical impediment," Rubin wrote. "Accordingly, as the harassment and other conduct alleged here directly interferes with, and sometimes precludes, access to the Pacific Ocean, it can be seen to fall within the language of the [California Coastal Act] statute. Whether there is proof of this state of affairs is left to another day."

The case was originally thrown out but now this appeals court has ruled the city did violate the Coastal Act, so the case isn’t over yet. It will now go back to the trial court. As if the court needed to waste any more time on this, but they surely will.

That’s all for now… thanks for reading. I will try to get back on a regular schedule for these now.