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Proposal for 50 interactive kiosks in downtown San Diego raises concerns about visual pollution. Supporters stress millions in revenue and help for tourists, while critics say kiosks could be first step toward Las Vegas, Times Square ....
Manhattan Beach City Council considers charging for outdoor dining decks SHARE 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. ....
Manhattan Avenue closure ends, ending outdoor dining experiment SHARE by Mark McDermott The Manhattan Avenue outdoor dining experiment is over. The city on Tuesday afternoon issued a brief statement saying the closure of two downtown city blocks that allowed restaurants to expand outdoor dining to the street would end later that afternoon. Mayor Suzanne Hadley, who was an ardent proponent of the street closure as a means of helping local businesses, said that the experiment had run its course. “During Covid, our city staff and council have worked hard to pivot and adapt to new ways of aiding our business community, as well as create rewarding experiences for our residents and visitors,” Hadley said. “The Manhattan Avenue street closure was recommended by many in our community. Council was anxious to try it. We wanted to see how a temporary street closure might work and what issues it would reveal. Well, now we know. The closure worked well in some ....