Cell phone coverage in Manhattan Beach near the ocean is notoriously atrocious. Just ask Ray Joseph who lives on Manhattan Avenue and 5th Place and like many residents believes poor coverage is a matter of public safety.

“I can’t call my son. He can’t call me,” Joseph said. “Our 911 system is effectively useless. How many lives are being lost because you can’t make a phone call?”

Redondo Beach, one of the South Bay’s oldest and most politically impassioned cities, is grappling with how to comply with a new state law requiring cities and school districts throughout the state to change election dates to boost voter turnout.

Although virtually every other city and school district in the South Bay has tackled the issue in the past two years, it’s a trickier matter for Redondo Beach because it’s a charter city with its own set of distinctive election rules. And any changes to the charter must be approved by voters.

Peninsula High senior John Zuercher is getting ready to deliver what could be his biggest donation collection yet for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Long Beach with the help of State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi’s office.

The football player started collecting donations for veterans when he started a Veterans Appreciation Club at his school last year.

With the passage of Measure S, a $59 million general obligation bond in June 2016, the Hermosa Beach City School District has the opportunity to rebuild its ailing North School, which is expected to have an enrollment of more than 500 third and fourth grade students.

But before demolition can even begin, The North School Reconstruction Project Draft Environmental Impact Report must be considered. The 480-page document details any potentially significant impacts on the surrounding community, from noise to traffic.

Perhaps developers will now flock to Redondo Beach.

City officials announced a plan to shut down the massive AES Power Plant and redevelop the 50 acres into a public park with a “coastal resort,” Curbed reported. AES was already planning on replacing the 1950s-era power plant with a more energy-efficient facility.

SACRAMENTO — Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), chairman of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, on Nov. 16 released the following statement on the University of California Board of Regents report finding the UC Office of the President interfered with a state audit:

Setting the stage for the next chapter of one of the biggest development battles in Redondo Beach history, officials announced ambitious plans Monday to purchase the oceanfront AES power plant site, which has generated electricity and contentious debate in the beach town for decades.

“This report is deeply disappointing to me,” Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, who sits on a subcommittee that deals with education finances, said during a phone interview.

Bill follows investigations into UCOP’s role in campus-wide audits

On Oct. 2, California Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 562 into law. The bill adds wording to an existing section of California Code as well as adds a new section meant to prohibit the interference of state audits by any individual, making the act punishable by fine. A new section, 8545.6, was written into law.

State lawmakers reacted angrily on Thursday to an investigation that found University of California President Janet Napolitano approved a plan that led her top aides to interfere with a state audit into her office’s finances.

The audit of the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) had been requested by legislators including Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance).