The pandemic has caused City Council to close Manhattan Beach's parks.  Now one - Polliwog Park - is being opened on a trial basis with few amenities and mandatory face masks.  But we have some questions -

Why aren't we opening more public parks, like our neighbors in Hermosa and El Segundo?

And are mandatory face masks a good idea for outdoor venues, given that 65% of Manhattan Beach residents are opposed to making this a requirement?

And who coined the salacious-sounding phrase "panic porno" and what does it mean?

When should Manhattan Beach be allowed to re-open its beach (which is County property) and under what restrictions?

We don't know if there's a perfect answer out there but there are certainly a lot of people willing to weigh in on the subject and oft-times in emotionally-incontinent social media posts bordering on hysteria.

All we know is, if this problem had existed during Seinfeld's heyday, Kramer would never have had that dispute with Ralph Lauren over his fragrance idea entitled "The Beach." 

But we digress.  Click the button below to read about this latest hot button issue in Manhattan Beach.

First residential construction is banned in Manhattan Beach due to the pandemic, then it's not banned. 

And is it necessary to burn down the village (economically-speaking) a la Vietnam in order to save it?  Apparently, City Council thought the answer was yes. 

But Governor Newsom (not always a model of clear thinking) got it right and decided residential real estate construction was an essential business activity (at least as of today).

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The US Supreme Court refuses, California loses, MB City Council snoozes and LA County chooses.  As the voting for County DA ramps up, get ready for a new radical ideologue to ascend to that position, which will surely exacerbate quality-of-life issues county-wide, including in Manhattan Beach.

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One of the great satirical essays in English literature is "A Modest Proposal" published by Jonathan Swift in 1729. 

With that work as inspiration, we've come up with our own modest proposal to help out our local retailers who sell tobacco products, given that the Manhattan Beach City Council has put the squeeze on their businesses and they will no longer be able to sell these products after this year.

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It's been 24 years since the movie Clueless hit the big screen.  Yet, to this day, some on City Council are still emulating that movie on a number of levels, most recently with their 4-1 ban on tobacco sales in Manhattan Beach (Suzanne Hadley providing the only reasoned vote in opposing the ban).  And to those small, hardworking mom-and-pop retailers who will lose business to convenience stores in neighboring communities as a result of the ban, well, Merry Christmas from our City Council grinches.  

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Bizarro world, a concept that first appeared in the Superman comics and later was made the subject of a Seinfeld episode, imagines a world where everything is the exact opposite of what you'd expect to see in the real world.  We were reminded of this fictional world while viewing the most recent City Council session.

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Seems like every week Manhattan Beach's City Council finds something new to ban, whether it's a legal product or a common activity.  At their first meeting in December, they'll be looking at two new ones - a ban on the sale of all tobacco products in Manhattan Beach and a ban on all construction activity on Saturdays (currently banned completely on Sundays and holidays with restricted hours on Saturdays).

But why stop there?  We've got a list of other things they may want to consider when they're in a banning mood.

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As a general rule, the community of Manhattan Beach is more tolerant than most.  But, as recent events demonstrate, there are always a few bad apples, whether it's painting your house with a garish mural or posting yard signs to spite your neighbors.

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Manhattan Beach is, undoubtedly, an upscale community that ranks as one of the safer ones in California with good schools and clean beaches to boot. 

But are our neighborhoods, downtown and beaches getting less clean and less safe?  Is San Francisco the model for our future?  

Recent events disturbingly seem to indicate the answers are 'yes' and 'yes.'

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