Bell Mobile Home residents await fate
One hundred and fifteen households — including 46 seniors and 34 residents with disabilities — are now waiting to find out whether they’ll be forced from the only homes many of them have known for decades, after the Bell Community Housing Authority (BCHA) finalized a report last week spelling out how the city could close their mobile home park for good.
The BCHA Relocation Impact Report for the park was released Aug. 3 and delivered to residents’ doors two days later. The report itself is procedural — required under California’s Mobile Home Residency Law before a city can approve closing a park — but its contents amount to a financial and emotional roadmap for the closure of the 151-space park on Gage Avenue home.
The park, built in 1946, is nearly 80 years old, and the city hasn’t raised space rents there in 15 years — they currently range from about $493 to $800 a month.
The city of roughly 32,000 people, tucked into the dense Gateway Cities corridor along the LA River, has a median household income of about $61,000 — well below the county average — and a poverty rate near 20%.
The report is open for public comment through early October, with comments directed to the Bell City Manager’s Office at (323) 588-6211, ext. 2617. The Bell City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the report on Oct. 14; the meeting’s exact time and location will be confirmed on the city’s posted agenda closer to the date, since Bell posts agendas only the Friday before each meeting. Residents with questions can call the City Manager’s Office at the number above.
Hawthorne secures court order for Hawthorne Mall demolition
The City of Hawthorne has secured a court order requiring the property owners of the vacant Hawthorne Mall to begin site demolition no later than Aug. 14, following a July 30 hearing on the long-blighted property.
The ruling sets a concrete timeline for the teardown: in addition to the Aug. 14 demolition start date, the judge ordered the property owners to submit all outstanding demolition permit applications for the site’s two parking structures by Aug. 28. The court noted the defendants have already made some good-faith progress, including installing perimeter fencing, gates and a job site trailer, and issuing advance demolition notices to the surrounding community.
“This court decision provides a clear, enforceable schedule for the remediation of the Hawthorne Mall property,” said Hawthorne City Manager Vontray Norris. “The City remains committed to utilizing all available legal avenues to pave the way for future development that will benefit residents and local businesses alike.”
The property owners have contracted AMPCO Contracting Inc. to carry out the demolition at 12124 Hawthorne Blvd. Under the approved work plan, the structure will come down in five phases, labeled A through E, beginning at the south end of the site and progressing north. All haul trucks will enter and exit exclusively via West 120th Street, tarped and secured, with mixed debris routed to CWS in Gardena and scrap metal to SA Metal in Long Beach.
Community members can track demolition progress through the city’s website and social media channels, or by subscribing to city email notifications.
Court dismisses lawsuit challenging Arcadia council censure
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Arcadia City Council’s 2025 censure of Councilmember Sharon Kwan (District 2), ruling that the censure was a constitutionally protected exercise of free speech and did not violate the Ralph M. Brown Act.
The lawsuit, filed by two Arcadia residents after the council’s August 2025 censure of Kwan, then serving as mayor, alleged the city violated the Brown Act in adopting the censure. On July 23 — nearly 10 months after the complaint was filed — the court granted the city’s motion to dismiss.
A censure is a formal statement of disapproval adopted by a legislative body over a member’s conduct; Kwan’s censure consisted solely of that official disapproval and carried no additional penalties or restrictions. The court found no evidence the censure was retaliatory and noted Kwan remained free to express her views as a councilmember throughout. It also rejected the Brown Act claim, clarifying that a dispute between council members, or criticism of a public official, does not by itself create a Brown Act violation, and found that Arcadia’s District 2 residents were not disenfranchised by the censure.
The city defended the case using California’s anti-SLAPP law, which protects constitutionally protected speech from litigation, and has spent $65,000 defending the lawsuit to date.
Long Beach’s free After School Program kicks off Aug. 24
The City of Long Beach‘s Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine will once again offer its free After School Program at park sites citywide this fall and through the 2026-27 school year.
The programs, which run weekdays from Aug. 24 through June 11, 2027, engage children ages 5 to 12 in sports, games, arts and crafts, special events and homework help, with sessions running either 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. or 3 to 6 p.m. depending on the park.
The programs are non-custodial, meaning participants may come and go at their own discretion, though staff remain onsite throughout.
Pre-registration is required through LB RecConnect; residents can click “Activities” and search “After School” to sign up. Anyone needing help registering can contact their local participating park directly, or use a public computer lab at any open Long Beach Public Library branch. A full list of participating locations and operating hours is available at lbcity.info/afterschoolprograms.
Manhattan Beach hosts beach volleyball’s “grand daddy” tournament
The Manhattan Beach Open by AVP, one of professional beach volleyball’s most storied tournaments, returns to the South Bay this week, running Aug. 13 through Aug. 16 on the south side of the Manhattan Beach Pier.
Known as “the Wimbledon of beach volleyball” and “the Grand Daddy of them all,” the tournament is part of the AVP Gold Series and will see four athletes inducted into the sport’s history on the pier sand.
While the sport’s roots trace to Santa Monica in the 1920s, Manhattan Beach has long been one of American beach volleyball’s most decorated proving grounds — Olympic medalists with ties to the city include Eric Fonoimoana, who won gold in 2000, Mike Dodd, who won silver in 1996, and Alix Klineman, who won gold in 2021. The U.S. has won more Olympic beach volleyball medals than any other country since the sport’s Olympic debut in 1996.
The tournament’s 32-team main draw is free to attend with general admission, though elevated ticket options are available. The city is urging attendees to avoid driving given very limited parking, with several lots and streets around the pier closing in stages between Aug. 9 and Aug. 19.
Visitors can also ride the city’s on-demand Circuit shuttle within Manhattan Beach city limits and to the Metro K Line’s Douglas Station for $5 per ride, or $2.50 for riders 55 and older.
