Issue No. 5 — Hermosa weighs a sales-tax measure for your November ballot
The one thing. Hermosa’s council weighed whether to put a 1% local sales tax on your November ballot at its Tuesday meeting (June 23) — roughly $4M a year, about $1 more on a $100 tab — alongside a higher hotel tax, ahead of August’s ballot deadline. The question on the table was whether a tax reaches voters this fall, not a tax itself. What’s being decided →
Your money. A new federally seeded investment account for kids opens this summer: under the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” every eligible child gets a $1,000 federal contribution into a so-called Trump Account. Families can add up to $5,000 a year, employers $2,500 tax-free, and the money invests in U.S. stock-index funds, withdrawable starting at 18. Funding begins July 4; eligibility and the birth-date cutoff are still being spelled out in IRS guidance. What changed, translated →
At City Hall. Manhattan Beach council is dark until July 7, so the development pipeline is where the action sits. The 7-story, 40-unit project at 2301 N. Sepulveda — the most-watched test of MB’s new state housing rules — is awaiting its 6th round of plan-check resubmittal, per the Stop the Rise MB tracker. If you own nearby, the next public input window is the July 15 open house on the downtown core. Our overlay explainer →
The market. The 30-year mortgage slipped to 6.47% for the week of June 18, down 34 basis points from a year ago — enough to trim roughly $700 a month off the payment on a $3M loan versus last June. It’s the fourth-straight weekly dip and the lowest reading in months, though at Beach Cities prices it’s a nudge, not a reset. Next Freddie Mac release: Thursday, June 26. The full market picture →
Schools. Mira Costa just closed its spring season with a rare double: the baseball team won the CIF title June 17 (9-7 over Agoura, the Mustangs’ seventh), and boys volleyball took both state and national crowns. Both teams are back in town this week — that program depth is part of what families are buying into here. Mira Costa’s 2026-27 registration is now open, with incoming-family orientation August 14.
The pulse. Forecasters made it official: El Niño conditions have been met, with a 63% chance of a “very strong” event and a 100% chance of holding through January, per the National Weather Service. The plain read for fall — bigger swells and wetter storms grow more likely (1983 is the local benchmark), so beachfront owners may want to watch the storm-track outlooks. This morning it’s mellow: a 3-foot SW swell, 66°F water, no shark advisory, no water-quality warning at last county check (June 17).
This week.
• Tue 6/23: HB council — budget, tax-ballot direction, election call, 6 PM, 1315 Valley Dr (HB) — Agenda
• Wed 6/24: HERmosa Circle Summer Soiree (Chamber women’s network), evening, HB — HB Chamber
• Thu 6/25: Mira Costa orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall, 8 PM (DTLA) — worth the drive if you’ve got a player in the family — Mira Costa
• Sun 6/28: South Bay Pride Paddle & Lunch, 11 AM, King Harbor Yacht Club (Redondo) — Eventbrite
One question. The World Cup runs through July 19, and MB venues like Zinc at Shade and Rock & Brews are hosting watch parties. Where are you actually watching the matches — a packed bar, the couch, or somewhere we should know about? Hit reply; we read every one.
— Written and edited by Jamie Marsh