Manhattan Beach City Council considers charging for outdoor dining decks
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by Mark McDermott
The Manhattan Beach City Council spent much of the last 14 months grappling with how to handle the pandemic locally. Now, as the pandemic wanes but its impacts linger, the Council is faced with a new set of challenges.
On Tuesday night, at its first meeting conducted in-person since March of last year, the Council considered charging local restaurants $4 per square foot for public right of way “parkettes,” used for the construction of outdoor dining decks during the pandemic.
The concern that compelled the discussion wasn’t just financial, although a staff report indicated that the City is losing $734,597 annually due to the 78 parking spaces taken from public use by the dining decks a figure that includes parking fees, citations, and ongoing maintenance expenses.
Big Brothers Big Sisters State Association of New Jersey named Staci Clark of Deptford and her Little Sister Dominique of Millville as Big Sister and Little Sister of the Year, and Ernest Ebanks of Mount Olive Township and his Little Brother Dreveon of Rockaway as Big Brother and Little Brother of the Year.
Ernest and Dreveon connected five years ago in Morris County, NJ. They first bonded watching and attending football games together and the more they shared, the closer they became. Ernest has inspired Dreveon to believe in himself and realize his academic potential. Now Dreveon is considering attending college and both he and his mom credit Ernest for Dreveon’s growing self-confidence and drive. Dreveon even plans to become a Big Brother himself!