It's the end of January and Hermosa Happenings is celebrating its first month of publication!  Thanks very much to all of you who come back every week to see what's happening.  Here is a list of the best and most popular articles of the past month:

• The Horse Chick - the post that started it all.
• Hermosa Interview - Luthier, Michael Peters
• Max, the Wheaten Terrier
• The Demise of Indie 103.1

Also,  I've set up a poll on the sidebar to get your input on what you like.

Don't forget to come back on Monday to read my interview of financial advisor Greg Schowe of LGAdvisors.  Even if you have no plans of outsourcing your finances right now, I think you can benefit a lot from some of the tips he shared with me for getting through these economic times.  Enjoy the SuperBowl!

...you can benefit a lot from some of the tips he shared with me...

Well, Indie 103.1 announced their demise over the airwaves a couple of weeks ago.  I turned the station back on today and heard some of this: <A HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fhermoshappen-20%2F8014%2F978d3009-1588-46bb-a655-babafddafb54&Operation=NoScript" mce_HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fhermoshappen-20%2F8014%2F978d3009-1588-46bb-a655-babafddafb54&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets</A> Either Indie is back and going way off the beaten track, or it's now a Spanish language station.  I guess it makes sense that that would be a profitable market here in southern California.

Lakers 132, Timberwolves 119 Lakers kick off their longest road trip of the year by beating Minnesota.  Bynum had another big game as they basically scored at will.  Timberwolves tried to make it close towards the end of the game, but the Lakers were too much for them.

The parking permit renewals are out!  I got mine in the mail last week.  Make sure you mail them in soon, otherwise you'll be like me every year and have to actually go into City Hall with a utility bill or lease to get renewed. It's forty bucks this year. If you can't renew by mail, go here, Monday through Thursday, 7am to 6pm...
View Larger Map From the city website:

A set grace period is in effect until March 22, 2009. Enforcement begins at 8:00 AM on Monday, March 23, 2009. For further information, see the Parking Permit Information Page or call (310) 318-0217 or (310) 318-0251.

Lakers 110, Bobcats 117

Well, after blowing out the Spurs and the Wizards, of course they lose to the Bobcats.  It took them two overtimes, but Charlotte did it.  Bynum even took out Gerald Wallace with an elbow to the ribs, Fish shot a clutch three-pointer to end regulation and Kobe scored 38 points before fouling out, but the Lakers still lost.  Oh well, might as well get it out of their system now.

Hermosa Beach is a dog kind of town - anyone walking around the Strand on weekends can attest to that.  For our first featured pup, we have Max, a Wheaten Terrier and companion of longtime visitor and sometime resident Lori. Max came to visit Rob and Gab for the weekend as Lori was out of town on a trip.

The puppies post will be up tomorrow night (Monday).  I know, I know...patience, patience.  The pics are worth the wait.

Lakers 99, Spurs 85

Apparently, 3:30pm EST means 12:30pm Laker time.  I missed the game, but the Lakers beat the Spurs.  Again, it wasn't close.

The win was the fourth straight and 14th in 17 games for the Lakers (35-8), whose .814 winning percentage is the best in the NBA

I just got the details from ESPN.

Those who weren't fooled by the early morning clouds and stayed out Saturday were rewarded with an amazing mix of pastels in the sky as the sun set.  People gathered at the pier to watch the colors change as the sun went down.

Unfortunately, my camera skills were not enough to capture the moment.  I did my best in picking out the serviceable ones from my collection.  I'll post those here, but you'll just have to come out and see the real thing for yourself one of these days.

I also put one up as a header for this site.  It will load up randomly, rotating with the standard blue/white header image.  If you don't see it up there now, it will come up eventually.

Most of us root for different football teams, but I think we can all agree that Hermosa Beach is a Laker town.  So...

Lakers 117, Wizards 97

They won by twenty, but it wasn't even that close.  The Lakers had more than seventy points by the end of the first half.  Kobe only had to score eleven points, Bynum kicked butt and Soon Yue played a few minutes.  They now have the best record in the NBA.