Chevron rots eggs

The Nose Knows when it smells something rotten, and Monday afternoon it smelled something REALLY rotten in NoMa. It was the same ROTTEN EGG smell that cost Chevron $200,000 in fines for a stuck valve two years ago. Stay tuned, the NOSE will get to the bottom of it...

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Former MB sister city unveils new look

Manhattan Beach former sister city, Culiacan, Mexico, is now a hot and dusty drug-lord infested city. Parque Culiacan was renamed Bruce’s Beach in 2007.

The city located in the state of Sinaloa is now at the center of a war between the state and violent drug traffickers. On June 9th 2008, in a piece titled “Smugglers' Hero Status Hampers Cartel Crackdown”, NPR’s Jason Beaubien gives us the skinny on our former sister city. Here are the highlights:

There has been a recent increase in violence in the state of Sinaloa, located along the Gulf of California; it is the main smuggling route for Columbian cocaine en route to the US.

Let Jason save you a Lonely Planet; Culiacan: hot and dusty, population 1m, smugglers are local heroes, eulogized in songs and protected by local authorities. The area is known for tomatoes and "El Chapo", the head of the local drug cartel.

The federal government has deployed thousands of soldiers and federal police to drug hotspots like Culiacan which has led to shootouts in broad daylight. Last month, the tally in Sinaloa was 120 dead in drug related violence, including 26 police officers.

The level of violence is unprecedented says a local weekly paper, it is everywhere. Local government officials have been infiltrated and corrupted by the cartel, the paper says.

Drug smugglers have become local heroes by giving generously to local politicians, helping to build churches and schools.

The city even has a Robin Hood of its own, Jesus Malverde, also know as the “Narco Saint,” a local bandit killed by the local authorities in 1909, who is said to have stolen from the rich and given to the poor. Malverde is honored in the city with a shrine and bust.

A long fight is predicted…

Thank you Jason for visiting Culiacan. Bleh.

What is now Bruce’s Beach was dedicated Parque Culiacan on March 16, 1974 at the time of a visit from representatives of Culiacan, MB’s first sister city.

Back in the day, the land was referred to as City Park and Beach Front Park; in 1962 it was named Bayview Terrace Park through a community contest.

The park was renamed Bruce’s Beach March 31, 2007. Excerpted from The City Project:

"Bruce's Beach was one of the few beaches in Southern California in the early 1900s that was not off-limits to African Americans. The City of Manhattan Beach condemned Bruce's Beach and forced out the black community in the 1920's and 30's. The City Project worked with Bernard Bruce, the Bruce's grandson, to change the name of the ocean front park back to Bruce's Beach (a/k/a Bruces' or Bruce Beach). The public celebrated the name change in a ceremony at Bruce's Beach on March 31, 2007. It is important to do more than just change the name, however. [...]

When Manhattan Beach was incorporated in 1912, a two-block area on the ocean was set aside for African-Americans. Charles and Willa Bruce built a black beach resort there, the only resort in Southern California that allowed Blacks. Bruces’ Beach offered ocean breezes, bathhouses, outdoor sports, dining, and dancing to African-Americans who craved their fair share of Southern California’s good life.

As coastal land became more valuable and the black population in Los Angeles increased—bringing more African-Americans to Bruces’ Beach—so did white opposition to the black beach. The black beach was roped off. The KKK harassed black beachgoers.

The City of Manhattan Beach pressured black property owners to sell at prices below fair market value and prevailed in the 1920s through condemnation proceedings. Bruce's Beach and the surrounding black neighborhood were destroyed. Black beachgoers were then relegated to the blacks-only section of Santa Monica beach known as "the Inkwell." Manhattan Beach tried to lease the Bruce's Beach land to a private individual as a whites-only beach, but relented in the face of civil disobedience organized by the NAACP.

Bernard Bruce has spent his life telling people about Bruce's Beach, the beach resort that his family owned. No one believed him because they did not believe black people owned beach resorts."

More picture here.

For those of you still attached to the former name, you will be glad to know Google Maps still carries the old moniker.

The park is located between 26th and 27th street, Highland Ave. and The Strand.

For a bit of history, the following is an excerpt from a City of Manhattan Beach Staff Report of July 5, 2006:

"Parque Culiacan is the City’s oldest park and is located between 26th and 27th Street on the west side of Highland Avenue. It is situated on a sloping grass hillside, is approximately three acres and has a beautiful view overlooking the ocean. It is a passive park with no facilities or play equipment.

The park began its life in the 1920’s. The City Council initiated eminent domain proceedings to take the property located from the Strand to Highland Avenue between 26th and 27th Streets and all families were dispossessed of their property. The circumstances of the eminent domain proceedings have led some historians to conclude that the actions were racially motivated, as the proceedings did include the removal of a popular beach resort for black families (Bruce’s Beach) and also dispossessed a number of black families from their homes. The exact motivations of the proponents of the eminent domain proceedings may never be truly known but the circumstances surrounding the birth of the park have raised questions. Parque Culiacan is named after the City of Manhattan Beach’s original Sister City Culiacan, Mexico. It was originally named Bay View Terrace in 1962 and later changed to Parque Culiacan in 1974. We recently received a letter from Culiacan, Mexico, indicating an interest in reestablishing a sister city relationship. We have attached a copy for your consideration during this discussion. This letter was also provided to the Sister City Committee for their consideration."

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