Recently in Environment Category

Readers, here is your morning news:

A state panel Tuesday recommended keeping the Rocky Point area near the Palos Verdes Peninsula open to fishing despite urging from environmentalists to turn the area into a marine preserve.

El Segundo's aerospace community honored veterans of war Tuesday, and some Wilmington women are busy sewing blankets for wounded soldiers. Check out pictures of The Aerospace Corp. ceremony, as well as images of the ladies.

Speaking of which, check out our list of South Bay events that honor our military service people, and see what offices are closed today.

Lomita City Councilwoman Margaret Estrada was declared Tuesday the winner of a third contested council seat locked in a tie after last week's election. A hand recount of votes revealed she won her seat over a challenger by just three ballots.

Manhattan Beach-based Skechers has expanded its brand to reach health care workers.

Readers, let's hit it:

A state panel charged with selecting a recommended plan for creating marine preserve delayed making a decision Thursday, but appeared in favor of allowing fishing off the coast of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

A group of South Bay environmentalists are joining the global movement of dancing to the Michael Jackson classic "Thriller" in Rolling Hills Estates on Saturday. Oh, yeah. They'll be wearing plastic bags in an effort to raise awareness about ocean pollution.

Check out pictures of the group's practice.

A man who worked as a janitor at Los Angeles International Airport has been charged with making four telephoned bomb threats that required airport officials to search terminals.

Palos Verdes High's running back is a 5-foot-7-inch powerhouse. See pics of this small wonder.

The city of Carson has approved the conversion of Colony Cove Mobile Estates to a resident ownership.

An inventive Redondo Beach chiropractor will stretch your spine.

Readers, start your week off well-informed of local news:

The board that oversees Los Angeles International Airport is expected today to approve two contracts worth more than $1.1 billion to build nine new gates and add 1 million square feet to the airport's Tom Bradley International Terminal.

Did you see the Breeze's comprehensive look at the Marine Life Protection Act? Check out pictures of the South Bay marine area that has pitted environmentalists against anglers here and here.

Looming mid-year budget cuts for California State University, Dominguez Hills has students worried it'll take longer to graduate and faculty members concerned about job losses.

Loa Pele Faletogo is maintaining Samoan culture right here in the South Bay.

Hermosa is going old school in an attempt to save its Post Office branch.

Hey, did you know Torrance has a celebrity chef? Yeah, me neither.

Some Scottsdale Estates residents have collected enough signatures to take control of the board, until now under the control of a longtime board president.

Readers, let's hit it:

More than 190 Carson residents have filed suit against Shell Oil Co. over alleged soil contamination beneath their homes.

South Bay relief efforts for tsunami-ravaged Samoa continued this week.

Hermosa Beach has approved a master plan for its South Park that would replace an unused roller rink with universally accessible playgrounds.

Los Angeles city leaders Wednesday gave the OK to a $1.5 billion expansion project for the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

On the crime front, Gardena police havs released a sketch of man sought in a rape of a woman at a massage business in town, and Hermosa Beach has arrested a man suspected of stealing bikes, a violation on the rise in the South Bay beach cities.

A trial has begun for Roy Senter, a 74-year-old man accused of molesting little girls in his Lomita neighborhood.

Readers, let's hit it:

The non-profit South Bay Literacy Council, which has taught people to read for 28 years in the area and operates on $40,000 a year, could fold. Office rent has doubled for the agency and its 85-year-old fundraiser is retiring.

Centinela Valley Union High School District is facing a civil rights complaint alleging the agency unlawfully eliminated an English language learners program from Hawthorne High school.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has filed complaints against four companies operating at the Port of Los Angeles for alleged pollution.

Budget cuts have forced the Harbor-area animal shelter to pick up three more zip codes of coverage, further straining the San Pedro facility.

Between a massive expected recall and accusations of a patent violation, it's been a rocky year for former automobile golden child Toyota, whose U.S. marketing and sales arm is based in Torrance.

Readers, let's roll with it:

A second jury deadlocked Monday in the case against Cameron Brown, accused of throwing his daughter off a Rancho Palos Verdes cliff. A judge declared a mistrial, and all parties return later this month to court, where prosecutors will announce whether they'll seek a third trial. Check out pictures.

More than 30 years after pesticide dumping stopped off the coast of Palos Verdes, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has selected a cleanup strategy for the shelf.

A San Pedro woman was reunited late Monday with her puppy stolen over the weekend. Check out pictures of the reunion.

More land use controversy in Redondo Beach is set to surface tonight, when the City Council will approve changes to rezoning efforts for the marina.

Changes might come to a Manhattan Beach park to honor two local victims of a horrific drunk driving accident earlier this year.

A Wiseburn-area child care provider was convicted Monday of molesting two girls.

Wow, there sure is a lot of chlamydia out there, new figures show.

New additions and key returning players could give Torrance High School's girls golf team a real shot at a state title.

A Gardena photo lab is still developing, despite ever changing technology.

Readers, let's roll:

A group of South Bay ocean lovers are working to spiff up the unfairly tarnished image of sharks by traveling next week to Baja California for a five-day expedition during which they'll tag whale sharks, the biggest fish on earth.

Thanks to a $5.5 million state grant, now just $400,000 stands between Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy's acquisition of a 191-acre parcel of land that would link preserves dotted all over south Palos Verdes. The piece of open land prompted the organization's founding more than 20 years ago.

A Harbor Gateway neighborhood was without water for 12 hours this weekend after a water main broke.

Golf legend Arnold Palmer was in town this weekend to discuss a plans to reconfigure the Rolling Hills Country Club. Check out pictures of the visit.

A man posing as a fertility doctor in Marina del Rey has been busted for allegedly sexually assaulting college-aged, male patients.

One woman's heroism spared two little girls from perishing last week in an early-morning fire in Scottsdale Estates, a Carson condominium complex where five children died in a fire four years ago.

A group of San Pedro nuns will travel this week to Rome, where their order's founder will be canonized.

Flu shots should be arriving this week, but in limited supply. A shortage prompted the cancellation of a clinic in Hermosa Beach last week.

Readers, let's get started:

Carson's vast Samoan community is still reeling over the aftermath of the tsunami that ravaged their homeland earlier this week. Check out pictures of Wednesday's vigil and relief efforts.

A year into the implementation of the Clean Trucks Program at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, more than 5,000 vehicles meet new standards and officials there believe they might reach a goal to reduce diesel truck emissions by 80 percent in 2010, two years ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, labor turmoil continues at one of the trucking companies at the Port of Los Angeles, making one aspect of the Clean Trucks Program unrealized at Swift Transportation.

In a new study released today, Torrance-area researchers find that alcohol changes the body's chemistry and acts as a buffer to injury, possibly shedding light on the ironic reality that drunk drivers kill others but often escape accidents unscathed.

That middle-aged man who shot up windows all over the South Bay earlier this year because he was bored got six years in prison under terms of a plea deal.

One apparent upside of a drought is clean beaches.

San Pedro High's Pablo Rosales shattered a cross country record Wednesday to win the South Bay Cup. Check out pictures of the meet.

Readers, let's hop to it:

A fire broke out at a Wilmington refinery this morning.

A loving and handy father brought a world wonder to his Redondo Beach daughter's backyard wedding. So sweet.

The family of a man shot and killed by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies last month in Carson have filed suit against the agency.

Just as the city of Torrance nearly wraps up extensive roadwork to its namesake boulevard, it moves along to Crenshaw Boulevard.

Veteran newswoman Toni Sciacqua is the Daily Breeze's new editor. Why don't you follow her on Twitter, and wish her congratulations?

The latest bank robbers with cutesy names wanted by the FBI? The Bedtime Bandits, who use pillow cases when they steal from banks, including three in the South Bay.

Today's At Work column profiles a woman who runs a San Pedro construction business.

Make sure you check out the Breeze's Top 10 list of prep football teams.

Readers, let's roll:

Missed the Emmy's last night? Prep for water cooler talk with our round-up, and scroll through pictures of the pretty dresses.

As Redondo Beach's King Harbor turns 50, locals wonder what's next for the landmark.

A 70-year-old woman who was brutally raped and beaten on a Hawthorne street last week has been identified by her son.

A record 14,038 people helped pick up garbage at Southern California beaches Saturday as part of Coastal Cleanup Day, during which volunteers collected more than 300,000 pounds of debris -- including a plastic skull that gave volunteers in Redondo Beach a bit of a fright.

In the wake of last month's 230-acre fire on the Palos Verdes Peninsuala, officials there are negotiating for improved brush clearance strategies.

After more than a decade of wrangling and fallen plans, the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners next month will consider a $1.2 billion waterfront redevelopment plan aimed at reviving San Pedro's image and economy.

The plans call for an increased footprint around quaint but outdated Ports O' Call, but what happens to downtown San Pedro?

Now that the state Legislature is on a break, let's see what new laws South Bay state elected officials got passed -- and what failed.