Recently in Lomita Category

Good to know, huh?

Here's the city's help wanted ad: The City of Lomita, population 21,000, is seeking a team oriented professional with solid local government experience. The ideal candidate will be an effective communicator/leader with unquestionable ethics and integrity.

The incoming City Manager will oversee a full-time staff of 48 and an operating budget of $13.7 million. Lomita is a contract city. The new City Manager should be a collaborative problem solver and straight forward in dealing with both the public and the council.

A Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration, Business Administration or a closely related field is required. A Master's Degree is preferred. The salary for the City Manager is open depending upon qualifications and experience. The City also offers an attractive benefits package including 2.5@ 55 PERS retirement.

If you are interested in this outstanding opportunity, please submit confidential resume with three references to City of Lomita, City Manager Recruitment, P.O. Box 339, Lomita, CA, 90717. Please contact (310) 325-7110, should you have any questions.

Readers, so much news today:

Break out the tissues for this one: A Redondo Beach police dog, which won three consecutive championships and was stabbed a few years ago, was put to sleep Wednesday afternoon. Valor was suffering from kidney failure.

Check out pictures of Officer Ken Greenleaf saying goodbye to his dog.

Torrance celebrated Wednesday the grand opening of the biggest hotel built in town in 20 years.

Westchester and Del Rey residents are angry about a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power plan to build a high-voltage power line from its Scattergood generating facility near El Segundo to a substation at Olympic Boulevard and Centinela Avenue.

Rancho Palos Verdes city leaders will redesign their City Council badges to look less like those for cops. Meanwhile, the city has tapped the former city manager of Lomita, who kept a dossier of alleged city incompetence and corruption, as its new parks and recreation manager.

Our business section and news columnist John Bogert are both all over the Los Angeles Auto Show. Scroll through some shots of the new rides.

Mira Costa High's football team is a top seed in the CIF-SS semifinals. Check out pictures of the team.

Readers, we're so thankful for all this news!

What's a South Bay native, Oscar-winning screenwriter to do while in prison for a year? Tweet, of course.

More than 200 active military service men and women got their Thanksgiving eat on Tuesday at the Bob Hope USO at Los Angeles International Airport. See pictures of the festivities.

Meantime, volunteers Tuesday in San Pedro assembled baskets for the needy in anticipation of what will likely be the biggest giveaways ever for First Presbyterian Church's 14th annual tradition.

The former head of the Transportation Security Administration and LAX's first security director has died.

Toyota Motor Corp. is working to mute speculation that the car giant, whose sales and marketing and finance arms are in the South Bay, would move workers out of California.

Defensive back Sean Parker will help his Narbonne High team mates take on Venice in the CIF quarterfinals tonight. Be sure to check out pictures of the player.

Your turkey probably isn't even defrosted yet, but here are some ideas about what to do with all those tasty leftovers.

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 hop to it:

Torrance will hold a swine flu vaccination clinic, but the city won't take any chances of a repeat of last month's high-traffic clinic in Redondo Beach.

The Los Angeles Conservancy hopes to raise awareness of local landmarks nearing their 50th birthday with "It's a Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod City" tour of the area's 1960s era architecture.

A Redondo Beach man has built in his garage an exact replica of a Pan Am 747 first-class cabin. The aviation enthusiast has spent 20 years collecting materials from 1960s and 1970s versions of the aircraft. Check out pictures of the set-up.

Get your skate on starting Tuesday at Redondo Beach's seaside ice skating rink. In its second year, the temporary facility will include more dine-and-skate nights, 80s night and a swimsuit weekend. Only in L.A., right?

A South Bay surf legend celebrates 50 years of board shaping with a special tribute. Check out pictures of Dewey Weber's son, Shea.

Three jurors who recently convicted a Lomita great-grandfather of molesting two neighborhood girls say they made a mistake and want to help the man get a new trial.

Carson city leaders have really muffled gadflies of late: Mayor Jim Dear has reinstated use of the mute button at City Council meetings, and the body voted to only allow government content on the city's public access channel, which used to feature activist programming that was often critical of the city.

A Rancho Palos Verdes man is working to compile a list of local charity, in hopes of increasing holiday giving and preventing scams.

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.

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 start your week off right:

Improvements to West High School softball fields are nearly complete after one family fileda complaint against Torrance Unified School District alleging a lack of athletic opportunities for girls, guaranteed under Title IX.

Two sisters love their Carson resident brother-in-law so much that they'd give him their kidneys.

Efforts to unionize a Port of Los Angeles trucking company serves as a microcosm for the national debate over the Employee Free Choice Act.

Now that Marymount College has announced plans to become a four-year school, the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council has ordered more environmental review of the institution's controversial expansion plans.

A woman whose body was found in a burning Gardena auto shop Friday killed herself, officials have ruled. See pictures of the scene.

Lomita is more than halfway done with its new reservoir, the biggest public works project in the tiny city's history.

To celebrate her ninth birthday on the ninth day of the ninth month, Miranda Snell got breakfast in bed this morning, a fancy tiara to wear at school, and plans for a special dinner at her favorite restaurant tonight.

"I'm turning nine," the Lomita third-grader said. "It's the ninth month and it's 2009 and it's the ninth day. They have the same numbers. My dad told me. He told me that all the numbers were going to be nine."

But despite having likely the most numerically neat birthday of the year, Miranda will have to wait to really celebrate her special day on Saturday, when all her school friends will come over for a pool party.

Looks like 9-9-09's falling on a Wednesday has kept the distinct date from being, well, a 10.

Cherished Vow's, a wedding chapel in Torrance, married five couples today -- a figure on par with any other weekend day, said owner Julie Nixon.

"We're performing No. 5 right now," she said this afternoon. "It's not as many as 7-7-7 or 8-8-8. If this were a Saturday, we'd be much busier."

Already, Nixon has received a call from a couple inquiring about the availability of Oct. 10, 2010, a Sunday.

Still, Nixon has no complaints about 9-9-09 -- a Wednesday usually only brings one couple to the chapel, she said.

And Miranda got a special treat birthday treat that would only work on a school day. She didn't have to wear her uniform, and instead got to stand out in whatever outfit she chose: brown shorts and a white shirt with lots of designs, she said.

Gentle readers, let's get Breezy:

A trio of beach city residents have joined forces to simplify green building, offering up architecture and real estate expertise for people who want to build or renovate using sustainable materials and making other environmentally friendly considerations.

Speaking of the environment, do you have Earth Day plans? Check out our list of South Bay events. Some already happened, but others are coming up.

The Manhattan Beach City Council decided Tuesday to give its cash-strapped school district $1.3 million in assistance.

Rep. Jane Harman continues to fight allegations that she promised favors to pro-Israel lobbyists, calling her phone taps an abuse of power and calling on the Justice Department to release memos.

The two men charged with killing Sonia Rios Risken shot her execution style in her Lomita home's entryway while she was in her bathrobe and pajamas, according to a court affidavit released Tuesday.

The South Bay's caffeine supply will take a hit, as several area Starbucks are on a list of nationwide closures.

South Torrance High's boy volleyball players overtook North High by using a trio of star hitters Tuesday.