A typical June gloom morning on the beach at 26th Street couldn’t put a damper on the determined group of 50 to 60 concerned residents who participated in a Surfrider Foundation beach cleanup Saturday.

The trash pickup work, which I was happy to participate in, was the prelude to our part in the nationwide Hands Across the Sand action, designed to bring people from all walks of life and political persuasions together to say no to offshore drilling and yes to switching to clean energy

Despite the work already done that morning by the tractor the county uses to rake and collect trash on the beach, I had no problem finding cigarette butts, small pieces of Styrofoam, food wrappers and all matter of plastic parts and pieces everywhere I looked on the sand.

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I walked down from my Hollywood Riviera home to the Riviera Village Summer Festival Saturday on a mission to get something good to eat while I listened to the groovin’ music on this perfect June beach day for the first weekend of summer. I also wanted to see how my own hometown street fair stacks up against neighboring events in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Palos Verdes.

I’m happy to report that there was a great BBQ truck that served up a smoking good pulled pork sandwich and a big BBQ’d turkey leg.

But I’m sorry to have to tell you that the Riviera Village Summer Festival (RVSF) ranks dead last in standard green practices for public events. The organizers weren’t engaging in any visible sustainability or environmental practices.

Read the rest of the story on Redondo Beach Patch.com

The Green Idea City of Hermosa Beach project has reached a major milestone in its goal to help the town become the first carbon-neutral city in the South Bay.

The City Council voted 5-0 on Tuesday to agree to a memorandum of understanding between Hermosa Beach and AECOM, an international provider of environmental and energy-related technical and management support services.

The global conglomerate will work for free to provide consulting and grant writing services that secure funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, as well as other programs that can cut the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Read the rest of the story on Hermosa Beach Patch.com

My wife, Debra, and I watched our beloved world champion Los Angeles Lakers banish the bullies from Boston back to Beantown at the Staples Center. Thursday night’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals was a magical experience we’ll never forget — for more reasons than you’d think.

Thursday was “Dump the Pump Day,” which encouraged residents to take public transportation for travel instead of driving. So we decided to leave our car at home and ride the train and bus to The Big Fastener. We had plenty of smart reasons to:

• We’d save at least $50 in gas and parking.
• We’d save the stress and aggravation of rush-hour traffic.
• Our car wouldn’t be at risk in post-game celebrations.
• We’d cut our carbon footprint and help cut greenhouse gas emissions while supporting public transportation.

Read the rest of the story on Hermosa Beach Patch.com

An ill-advised, last-minute attempt to add dedicated bicycle lanes to the Upper Pier Avenue project resulted in disappointment, tension and frustration that was expressed emotionally at times by three of the five Hermosa Beach City Council members at the panel’s meeting Tuesday night.

Councilman Jeff Duclos had spearheaded a push to reevaluate the bike lane project, and I was one of the local environmental leaders he contacted about that last week.  Duclos told me via telephone that the door was open to take a second look at the concrete center median slated for the new Upper Pier, because the project was over budget and behind schedule.

He said that eliminating the center median would not only get the project back on track and save big money, but it would also open space for dedicated bike lanes.  He further confided that the Hermosa Beach police and fire departments were now expressing safety concerns about the median.

Read more about it on Hermosa Beach Patch.com