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My friend Loren DeRoy and her husband were recently honored as Palos Verdes Peninsula citizens of the year as reported in the Palos Verdes Peninsula News. Rather than taking their bows and soaking in the spotlight, Craig and Loren DeRoy chose to applaud their friends and fellow volunteers who attended the October 21str Citizens of the Year dinner at Trump National Golf Club. Crossing the arts, education, the environment and human rights, the DeRoys €™ reach is far. Understanding that it takes a community, the couple shared the honor bestowed upon [...]

The City of Palos Verdes Estates has hired a consultant to evaluate their options relating to the City's ownership of several bluff top homes and lots above Bluff Cove which it acquired years ago in settlement of a lawsuit. The following are excerpts from an article written by Melissa Palmer and published in the Daily Breeze today: "The homes are among 10 properties overlooking Bluff Cove that the city acquired in a series of long-running lawsuits that lasted from 1978 to 1990.Homes in the affluent area - which offers some of [...]

Palos Verdes Intermediate School is pleased to present its fall production, Neil Simon €™sFools, this evening Saturday at 7:00 pm Leon Tolchinsky is ecstatic. He's landed a terrific teaching job in an idyllic Russian hamlet. When he arrives, he finds people sweeping dust from the stoops back into their houses and people milking upside down to get more cream. The town has been cursed with Chronic Stupidity for 200 years and Leon's job is to break the curse. To make matters worse, Leon finds that he will fall victim to the [...]

I will be holding an open house tomorrow Sunday for my new listing. 0 ROCKINGHORSE ROAD- RANCHO PALOS VERDESOffered at $1,400,000 MLS # V11141370 Fantastic Upper Rockinghorse 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath 3,047 sq. ft. Family Home on approx 1/2 acre and an adjacent second lot of similar size. The Living room, Den and huge Family room provide wonderful Living areas. Large backyard with Beautiful Pool and a 3 car garage. Home has been updated, has a new roof and shows beautifully. Features include all new paver stone pool deck and pool [...]

Interest rates moved down about a tenth of a point this week, after having increased about 1 percentage point over the last month from their historic lows.The following are excerpts from the newsletter on interest rates published by HSH Associates : "As we expected, mortgage rates eased a little this week. After a period of shock and disbelief, it would appear that the market has become resigned to the fact that the Fed will eventually begin tapering purchases of Mortgage-Backed Securities and Treasury Bonds. However, the more concrete deadlines offered by [...]

CALCULATION OF PROPERTY TAXESProperty Taxes in the South Bay of Los Angeles County are computed by the standard 1.0% of the property's assessed valuation (in accordance with Proposition 13, a property's assessed valuation is the original purchase price, plus the cost of improvements, based on the value of permits pulled, plus an increase in valuation of 2% per year) plus additional tax rates for voted bonded indebtedness, plus direct assessments such as school parcel taxes. Copies of building permits are sent to the Assessor. New buildings, additions, and other structures require [...]

The La Venta Inn The La Venta Inn was constructed in 1923 in what is now the City of Palos Verdes Estates at a cost of $17,000,, and was originally named Clubhouse 764 and was also referred to in some early historical documents as the Wayside Inn, The La Venta Inn was the first structure constructed on the peninsula. Architects Walter and Pierpont Davis designed the building and the famous landscape architects, the Olmstead brothers, designed the gardens. Given the name, la Venta, meaning €œthe sale, € it was originally built [...]

I have posted several items relating to the on-going landslide on Paseo del Mar in San Pedro, including Dangerous Sink Hole Appears in San Pedro . The folllowing is an update published in the Los Angeles Times: A coastal bluff in San Pedro is slowly buckling and sliding toward the ocean, splitting open a coastal highway with sinkholes, cracks and deep crevices that are widening day by day. Crews are hurrying to move sewer and water lines and utility poles and to reroute two major storm drains that join under Paseo [...]

Donald Trump has just sold the new custom built mansion that he built solely for sale for $7.15 million. The home was originally listed for $12 million with Linda D'Ambrosi and Sandra Callen of Keller Williams, Rancho Palos Verdes, and Suzanne Dyer of Prudential California Realty represented the buyer. Mr. Trump never occupied the home. The five-bedroom, nine-bathroom Trump mansion, built in 2010, has a 1,000-square-foot kitchen, marble flooring and wall-to-ceiling sliding doors that disappear from view. An infinity pool sits in the courtyard. (Emily Cristano / July 10, 2011) (AP [...]

The Riviera Village Shopping area in Redondo Beach will be holding its annual trick or treat event for local area children on Monday night. Halloween Trick or Treat October 31Ghosts and goblins will mix with princesses and super heroes as Riviera Village hosts the annual Halloween Trick or Treat on Monday, October 31. Catalina Ave. will be closed to traffic from Ave. I to Palos Verdes Blvd., and the shops will hand out candy and treats from 3 to 7 pm.This event has become a Redondo Beach tradition, attracting thousands of [...]

WELCOME PUMPKIN RACE FANS! Sunday, October 30th, 2011Manhattan Beach Pier 12:00pm - 6:30pm See Race Details at http://www.pumpkinrace.com/photo_gallery.html READY, SET, GO! Gather your family and friends and get your little pumpkins to the 21st Annual World Famous Pumpkin Race Festival. Enjoy the spectacle of the Manhattan Beach Pier area transformed into Pumpkinrace Land, where creativity runs wild and cheaters never prosper. Dress in colorful costumes, enjoy fun activities for all ages, make your own Pumpkin Racecar and feel the thrill of competing in the fun-spirited World Famous Pumpkin Race. Free and [...]

THE REX GAMBLING SHIP Big time gambling, complete with mobsters and shooting incidents, found its way to Redondo Beach during the Depression. Chip games, bingo parlors, and a casino were run in full view of the law between 1936 and 1939. For a fare of 25 cents, a water-taxi would transport a visitor to the gambling ship Rex which operated three miles off shore. The Rex was operated by a colorful character named Tony Conero. Tony was a rum runner during prohibition, and began his gambling career by building the Meadows [...]

Interest rates remained azbout the same this week, and remain near historical lows. With the volatility in the stock market expected to continue, the flight to safety and bonds is expected to continue, keeping interest rates down The following are some excerpts from this week's newsletter on interest rates from HSH Associates : "The brief rise in mortgage rates has leveled off, leaving us at about five week highs. The economic news out of late continues to feature a mixed-to-brighter picture, and that will make it difficult for rates to fall [...]

The sink hole that appeared in San Pedro along Pase del Mar a few weeks ago ( see Dangerous Sink Hole Appears in San Pedro ) is in the same area as the Sunken City landslide. This is an area in the Pt. Fermin area where a landslide which began in 1929 and then accelerated in 1939-1940 destroyed part of Paseo del Mar. and several homes. It is now a jumble of rolling land with palm trees, isolated slabs of the old road, tilting sidewalks, streetcar tracks, and remnants of house [...]