Recently in Lawndale Category

Coming at ya, readers:

Lomita's City Council race has ended in a tie for the third seat, a relative rarity in local elections. Also, check out our post-election coverage.

Say goodbye to bikini-clad baristas in Torrance. The controversial Bikini Espresso is closing.

The family of a man killed in a shootout that also injured a sheriff's deputy this week in Lawndale said the incident could have been avoided had a parole agent arrested Juan Carlos Aguilar for drug possession earlier that day. Check out pictures of the aftermath.

John Bogert opines about a rite of passage -- school dances.

Trial has started for the former Torrance plastic surgeon accused of working while on disability and double-billing for procedures.

Los Angeles city leaders have approved $1.3 billion worth of construction contracts to expand the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.

Several South Bay cities and agencies will get nearly $13 million for various projects from Los Angeles County, Supervisor Don Knabe announced in his state of the county speech Wednesday.

Two Mira Costa High School girl volleyball players are glamming up the usually inglorious middle blocker position.

Let's hit it with the news:

We check in with South Bay schools that tuned in Tuesday to watch President Obama address school children across the country.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has awarded a $170 million contract for the construction of a new surgery center at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center near Torrance.

Meantime, the county will receive nearly $15 million from the Center for Disease Control to combat swine flu as part of an emergency public health fund.

Turns out, Tortilla Flats isn't the best name for a restaurant in Old Torrance, just blocks away from the turf of an East Torrance gang that has adopted the literary moniker.

Trucking companies are protesting a proposed 18-cent state gas tax, which some companies working out of the Port of Los Angeles say would only add to the burden they're feeling after new environmental regulations.

One local company is seeing a profit boost thanks to gold's rising value.

Prep football is here, and today we look at teams from Leuzinger and Inglewood. While you're at it, why don't you check out pictures of Leuzinger's team?

Readers, let's hit it:

The Rancho Palos Verdes fire is out, but blazes continue to rage in the rest of the region, including the massive Station wildfire, in which two firefighters died Sunday.

Scroll through pictures of the aftermath of the PV fire here and here.

Sheriff's deputies are looking for four men believed to be involved in the shooting of a man in Lawndale last night.

Loyola Marymount University opened its brand spanking new library Sunday. Check out pictures of the $63 million facility.

Old Torrance hosted its first ever block party Sunday.

A Long Beach man was first to paddle Sunday into Manhattan Beach in the 34th Catalina Classic Paddleboard Championship. Check out pictures of the event.

And some weekend stragglers...

Shell Oil Co. has discovered methane and benzene contamination beneath a south Carson housing tract.

Patrons of a popular San Pedro cigar shop are fasting for Ramadan in solidarity with the store's owner.

The election for the 51st Assembly seat is Tuesday.

Readers, let's end your work week with some juicy local news:

A 13-year-old Carson boy died when he accidentally shot himself while playing with a gun Thursday.

A Westchester man believed to have made threats against the White House locked himself in his car for more than nine hours Thursday outside the Federal Building in West Los Angeles. The stand-off snarled traffic and forced evacuations of neighboring buildings.

Mourners Thursday gathered in San Pedro to remember the Sandovals, the family of four killed in a fiery car crash along with a young niece last week while en route to Legoland. Here are some photos of the emotional services.

A Redondo Beach man was sentenced to three years in military prison Thursday after going AWOL from the Air Force and lying about it, a military judge ruled in a rare court-martial proceeding at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo.

Lawndale's Environmental Charter School hosted a conference Thursday for educators statewide to learn more about "green" curriculum models.

Torrance resident Akihiko Noro is on a roll as the head chef at a Redondo Beach culinary mainstay's new sushi bar. Check out some pictures here.

3...2....1... News off!

Parking could get half easier in Manhattan Beach if an upcoming experiment with high-tech meters is successful.

An elderly Lawndale woman was killed in a hit-and-run crash Sunday in Los Angeles that police believe was caused by street racers.

Manhattan Beach landmark restaurant Old Venice is back in business after three years of turmoil. Check out pictures of the eatery.

South Bay beach goers got an aerial ad of a different message Saturday, when a plane dragged a banner over Hermosa Beach telling an NBA great to stop chasing married gals.

Check out photos of Camp Escapades, a three-week Torrance camp for special-needs children.

A Torrance youth baseball team is headed to the Babe Ruth World Series.

Knit Sewing Club USA of Torrance teaches members to make their own clothes.

Readers, here's your news:

A Redondo Beach police officer shot and wounded a man in Lawndale after what witnesses called a running gun battle between neighbors Saturday night.

Residents of the unincorporated Los Angeles County neighborhood of Wiseburn are miffed that a water company has apparently renigged on a deal that would have turned one of its vacant lots into a park.

A Carson resident took his third Manhattan Beach Grand Prix championship title Sunday. Miss the event? Check out pictures here and here and it was just like you were there.

The Manhattan Beach Brewing Co.,  likely the South Bay's oldest brewery, is going upscale later this summer.

Los Angeles International Airport passengers and employees will see some changes Tuesday, when the effects of Delta and Northwest airlines' merger leaves vacant space in Terminal 2.

A local restaurateur is opening his second new eatery in a year -- and will bring about 100 new jobs to Manhattan Beach.

New state fish consumption guidelines are stricter and more expansive than the traditional warning against avoiding white croaker caught off the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

The rash of BB-gun shattered windows is still spreading across the South Bay.

Lawndale Mayor Harold Hofmann recited the hallmarks of the city's progress over the past year at a Chamber of Commerce-sponsored State of the City address this morning.

To highlight the city's most prominent achievement this year, the event was held at the new Lawndale library next to City Hall, at 147th Street and Burin Avenue.  The $7.3 million library is the result of years of planning between the city and the county and, since it opened in March:

• Over 50,000 people have visited
• More than 1,000 new library cards have been issued
• 35,000 new books, DVDs and CDs have been added

 While progress has been made in the city, the goals expressed by Hofmann at last year's State of the City were the same: a new community center is planned for 2012 across from City Hall, street improvements continue to be made, and a new nearly-one-acre park is set to open June 27 just west of Hawthorne Boulevard between 162nd and 163rd streets.

The budget woes that are hitting every local city this year are not as dire in Lawndale, Hofmann said. Though the city is planning to bring in $900,000 less in the coming fiscal year than it originally expected, it is not slashing any services or projects.  

Readers, let's get it started:

Of the 40 massage parlors Torrance police visited since the city established a moratorium on new massage parlors, cops busted 19 for prostitution and other lewd acts. An extension on the temporary ban will allow police to check in with the remaining 47 businesses.

A Marina del Rey drug rehabilitation counselor honored for his work in the community has been busted for ... wait for it .... that's right ... drug dealing.

The teen who allegedly accidentally shot and killed his Lawndale best friend has turned himself in, and now faces murder charges.

San Pedro's Barton Hill Elementary School is celebrating 100 years of churning out kids.

In this week's At Work feature, we check in with a cell phone worker.

Torrance High's Andrew Pulido is the Breeze's baseball player of the year, and his coach Ollie Turner takes leadership honors. Make sure you check out pictures of the entire All-Area Team.

Rainn Wilson, the actor best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on NBC's The Office, tweeted this afternoon: "I am in Lawndale, CA and believe me when I say there are no lawns here."

Do any of you readers have any guesses about what brought Wilson to the so-called Heart of the South Bay? Yeah, me neither.

Today's my last day doing morning reads. You've been great, South Bay!

Hawthorne cage-fight rescheduled. Tickets have already been sold for this weekend's "Hurricane in the Hangar" over at Hawthorne Municipal Airport. But the promoter has rescheduled because he didn't get a blessing from City Hall. Surely something can be worked out... Maybe they could make Guidi-Parsons the undercard?

Another kidnapping attempt in Redondo Beach. Police say this one is not related to the other one in January, or to the murder of Cori Desmond.

Chinese veterinarians tour Lawndale dog and cat hospital. Part of being a global economic powerhouse is lavishing thousands upon thousands of dollars on medical treatment for household pets. To the Chinese, this is a pretty foreign concept, but they are learning fast. "We're opening up the culture to the importance of the human-animal bond," says Dr. Henry Yoo, the Santa Monica veterinarian who organized the trip.

Get your Argentinian poetry on. A bunch of Latin-American poets and writers descended on Cal State Dominguez Hills yesterday for a literary symposium. "We mirror what this country is becoming and what the world is," says CSUDH President Mildred Garcia. Que bueno!