Past Stories

Playa del Rey: St. Bernard High opens doors to L.A. Sparks for training facility

By Vince Echavaria The St. Bernard High School gym has played host to a wide range of basketball talent over the years, but that has now extended to the professional level. The Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA have begun…


Playa del Rey: St. Bernard High names new girls basketball, volleyball coaches

St. Bernard High School in Playa del Rey announced two new leadership changes in the Viking athletic program, with the hiring of Michelle Greco as head girls basketball coach and Sean Fallowfield as head volleyball coach. Greco...


BALLONA INSTITUTE president and biologist Roy van de Hoek leads the Foliage and Feathers walk as part of the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase

Earth Month activities organized by Ballona Institute

The Playa del Rey-based Ballona Institute celebrated Earth Month with a series of activities that engaged local neighborhoods in learning about the environment and helping to be good stewards of nature in the Ballona Valley, wh...



Playa del Rey: Campus renovations planned at St. Bernard High

Celebrating its 55th year, St. Bernard High School in Playa del Rey is slated to receive a variety of renovations beginning this summer. Funded by contributions from several Catholic benefactors, the major upgrades will include...


A HEATED ISSUE – Nighttime bonfires are a highly popular activity at Southern California beaches like Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey, where some visitors come early in the day to secure a spot.

Air quality regulators explore bonfire ban due to health concerns

                        By Vince Echavaria What began as a push by a city in Orange County to remove its popular beach bonfire pits has begun to drift toward other are...


ST. BERNARD HIGH Principal Cynthia Hoepner joins leadership honorees Gen. Kevin Chilton, class of 1972, and Jason Ferguson, class of 2013, at the school’s 55th anniversary celebration.

Playa del Rey: St. Bernard High holds 55th anniversary celebration with alumni

St. Bernard High School in Playa del Rey celebrated its 55th anniversary March 16 with alumni from each of the past five decades in attendance. The event, held at Shanghai Red’s in Marina del Rey, was intended to re-engage th...



Playa del Rey: Environmental organization receives $45,000 DWP grant

The Ballona Institute is one of 15 recipients of a grant from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The public utility awarded $765,000 in grants to 17 local nonprofit organizations to promote energy efficiency and wat...


Playa del Rey: COASTAL 5K/10K to benefit Pepperdine Graduate School programs

The third annual Children’s Outreach: Advancing Social Transformation and Learning (COASTAL) 5K/10K walk/run and Kiddie K will be held Saturday, Jan. 26 at Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey. Organized by the Pepperdine ...


Playa del Rey: Coastal Commission supports improvement project for former residential area near airport

A project to beautify the land where a residential subdivision once stood west of Los Angeles International Airport has received the approval of the California Coastal Commission. The commission voted Jan. 10 to approve with co...



A LARGE FLAME and plume of smoke rose from the Southern California Gas Co.’s storage field in Playa del Rey during an unplanned release of natural gas
Jan. 6.  Photo by Phil Gilboy

Playa del Rey: Unplanned natural gas release creates large flame from storage field

By Vince Echavaria                           The Southern California Gas Co. suspended operations at its natural gas storage field in Playa del Rey pending an inv...