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R.B.H.R.A.

PRESIDENT'S LOG

Saturday May 3, 2008

Dear RBHRA Member:

I am pleased to report to you that we have had several victories over the past months.

I also want to enlist you help in setting the record straight with regard to a slander that has been put upon the good name of our city.

First of all, as you may already know, the Members of The Redondo Beach City Council voted unanimously to make the Redondo Beach Memorial Day Parade and Tribute a Signature Event. Thus insuring that, for the foreseeable future, The Parade and Tribute - now administered by the Redondo Union High Marine Corps Junior ROTC - will be an ongoing Tradition in Redondo Beach.

Second, I had a great meeting with two of our City Councilmen, the President of The Chamber of Commerce and the General Manager of Kincaid's Restaurant on the Redondo Pier last week. The purpose of the meeting was to let The Business Community know that RBHRA understands that a good business climate is good for Homeowners and Residents and that we want to help our local business owners do well. At the meeting, we discussed ways that our RBHRA can work together with the City Council and the Chamber to the benefit of all concerned. During the meeting we discussed possible ways to attract more High-End Businesses to the Pier, how to make the Pier and Veteran's Park more "user-friendly" for local Redondo Homeowners and Residents and more profitable for Local Redondo Businesses. A major subject of discussion was the frustrating nature of the parking system that is currently in use at the pier. At his meeting - I proposed doing away with the system and putting in parking meters. The idea was pretty well received, but one problem is that, to drill into the pier structure without disrupting its integrity requires a very expensive x-ray of the meter locations to be sure that essential rebar is not cut. After some research, I have located a company that makes parking meters that do not require "coring" of the concrete for their installation that might make the conversion more feasible. I passed this information on to the City Manager and the City Councilmen. Please send me emails with your opinions on my proposal and suggestions for solving the problem.

Third, You may have read in The Daily Breeze that a local youth was beaten and robbed by "gang members" on the Esplanade. This is not true and puts a false slander on our City and our Beach. There was a retraction in the Daily Breeze, but the retraction was still not fully accurate. I have been in contact with Redondo Beach Police Chief Joe Leonardi, for whom I have great respect and admiration. He has assured me that there is an ongoing investigation to determine the full facts of the occurrence. But, as of this point it appears that the young man was NOT a Marine, the persons who beat him were not "gang members" and that he had some part in provoking the altercation. Please reserve judgment on this until all the facts are in and substantiated. In the meantime, please help me to defuse the furor that seems to have erupted over this relatively innocuous matter. Please go to the Daily Breeze Blog site and voice your opinion. I hope that you can do so in favor of and in defense of Chief Leonardi, who I personally know to be a most honorable and self-sacrificing man with an extraordinary dedication to Redondo Beach and his Duty as Chief of Police.

Finally, we are coming up on the renewal date for RBHRA Memberships. Please, renew your membership and encourage your friends and neighbors to JOIN UP and help make Redondo Beach a better place for Homeowners and Residents.

Until Next Time, I remain

Your President and Neighbor,

Reverend Bhagavan Friend

"The Wise Commander does not depend on his subordinates for victory,
but creates a situation in which victory is inevitable" - Sun Tzu, The Art of War -