Recently in Port of Los Angeles Category

Despite high unemployment figures and a sagging economy, more than
17,000 travelers passed through the Port of Los Angeles World Cruise
Center on Sunday, breaking the previous record by about 2,500 people.

The Golden Princess and the Star Princess, each capable of holding
2,700 passengers, dropped off and picked up passengers bound for
Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand. The Mariner of the Seas, capable
of holding 3,150 passengers, dropped off and picked up travelers
headed to the Mexican Riviera.

Here are some photos from the port:

Readers, so much news today:

The owners of the South Bay Galleria want to revamp a 11-acre piece of property adjacent to the Redondo Beach mall with a $32 million retail complex. This development -- curiously titled SouthBay South -- would replace the old bowling alley site, as well as buildings that once housed CompUSA and Thrifty Drug.

Boxing champ Mike Tyson was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after a Wednesday night scuffle with the paparazzi.

Speaking of LAX, why don't you mosey over to our South Bay History blog to read up on the providence of the iconic Theme Building?

The heads of the west coast's six largest ports -- including Los Angeles -- are in China touting their facilities to Asian shippers in hopes of luring back business.

Two robbers who held up an Inglewood autoparts store who led Hawthorne police on a freeway chase in a high-jacked car are still at large after about nine hours of searching Wednesday.

Make sure you check out pictures of Hermosa Beach's candlelight Veteran's Day ceremony

Serra High's defensive end duo are best friends who place weekly wagers on who gets the most sacks.

A Manhattan Beach developer is responsible for the Santa Fe springs housing tract being touted as the largest solar-powered residential community in the United States.

Readers, for your informational pleasure:

The day after narrowly losing his bid for a seat on the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council, former Mayor John McTaggart died Wednesday. "He's gone out with flying colors," his wife Flo said. "As far as I'm concerned, he gave the city a boot in the you-know-where."

A mint-condition 1965 Volkswagen microbus stolen in the 1970s turned up in a cargo crate at the Port of Los Angeles this week. The pristine car has just 70,000 miles on it and is probably worth up to $30,000 more than it was 35 years ago. Some old hippie is probably totally stoked right now.

No one was injured Thursday when a power pole fell on a school bus carrying physically disabled children in Redondo Beach. Check out pictures of the scene.

Turns out that Carson's prediction of revenue for its new utility-users' tax is a bit too high. Like by at least $1 million.

A Manhattan Beach man rescued his bed-ridden neighbor from her burning home early Thursday.

A Gardena woman has turned her baking habit into a profitable business. Mmm. Cookies.

Two Carson High linebackers like to compare their approach to the game to that of their San Diego Chargers counterparts.

Readers, let's get to it:

A Beach Cities Health District program calling for eight-minute sessions of pre-class exercise has expanded to eight Redondo Beach elementary schools in hopes of increasing kids' energy and decreasing obesity rates.

Meantime, it was near mayhem outside the health district's offices Saturday in Redondo Beach, where folks lined up for a drive-through swine flu clinic. Check out pictures.

A turf war is brewing between West Coast and Canadian ports in response to a $7 million marketing campaign launched by the Great White North.

Another Republican has thrown his hat into the ring for Jane Harman's Congressional seat.

Still arranging Halloween plans? Check out our database of South Bay activities.

Also, check out our page dedicated to all things local South Bay elections.

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:

 A Manhattan Beach couple is running the city's annual 10K this weekend to raise awareness about a rare genetic disorder that plagued their son.

Prominent San Pedro restaurateur John Papadakis is one person smiling over the area's new waterfront redevelopment plan approved earlier this week.

The 2009 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships is underway through Sunday at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

A word to the wise for criminals: If you burgle a house, don't come back to the scene, and make sure your gloves aren't dangling out of your back pocket, like one man allegedly did in Torrance. Oh yeah, he's also a registered sex offender who was wearing a global positioning device.

Breeze biz columnist Muhammed El-Hasan apparently has a saggy nose.

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 end September with a bang:

Los Angeles County prepared Tuesday in wake of a tsunami warning resulting from a tidal wave that swept Samoa, while the Samoan community in Carson gathered to share information and organize a vigil for relatives affected back home.

The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners approved a $1.2 billion waterfront redevelopment plan early Wednesday, after about 500 people crowded the meeting room to sound off on the plan.

The unique Beach Cities Health District is apparently a model of the preventive health care envisioned in national health care reform plans.

Toyota Motor Corp., whose sales and marketing arm is based in Torrance, has announced plans to recall about 3.8 million late-model vehicles in the United States in fear that their floor mats could cause accelerator pedals to jam.

Manhattan Beach's famed dune will remain closed through the end of the year.

Stakeholders at a Wilmington elementary school have voted to change the institution's name to honor George De La Torre, a local businessman and philanthropist who died last year.

Talks continue in Carson over the fate of two mobile homes parks.

The Port of L.A.'s Clean Trucks Program is drawing some national interest, as the city lobbies Washington for permission to re-regulate the local port trucking industry. The program is seen, for better or worse, as a potential model for re-unionization port drivers nationwide.

Whether you think that's a good idea or not depends on your politics. First up, the Wall Street Journal, which takes a dim view of the program:

Unionization would give the Teamsters enormous bargaining leverage over work rules and pay, sharply raising the cost of moving goods, as well the power to shut down ports in a strike. Some 32 trade groups, from farm organizations to the National Retail Federation, signed a recent letter to Mr. Oberstar opposing the legislation. The response of shippers would be to divert cargo to Mexico or Canada, or pass through an expanding Panama Canal for ports on the Gulf or East Coasts. California doesn't need more reasons for business to flee the state.

The change in federal law would also mark a step away from the transportation deregulation that began in the 1970s and that has done so much to reduce costs and improve competition. The damage from a patchwork regulatory system would be felt nationwide, and all for the sake of Mr. Villaraigosa's union pals.

But The American Prospect argues that the Clean Trucks Program is an essential piece of a broad effort to modernize America's ports:

Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, is a marvel of efficiency. More than 7,000 container ships visit its docks annually, most stopping for barely more than a day. New terminal facilities, built on landfill where the river meets the sea, handle 10 million containers with a minimum of congestion and pollution.

The freight -- Chinese clothing and electronics, American pharmaceuticals, Spanish automobiles -- seamlessly flows to warehouses, distribution centers, rail yards, and barges surrounding the port, on time and on schedule. The tightly integrated freight-movement system at the port makes it possible to operate a just-in-time logistics system in which goods arrive at their destination 15 minutes before they are moved to their next spot on the supply chain. This allows shippers to operate with minimal inventory, a must on a continent where most retail shops have minimal space to store goods. Lean logistics means lower interest costs on merchandise, lower insurance costs, less theft, and less need to discount unsold goods.

By comparison, American ports and the logistics and distribution systems they feed are old world.

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.