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Ray Jackson Newsletter — August 31, 2026
📬 Councilmember Ray Jackson | Hermosa Beach | August 31, 2026
Hello, Hermosa Beach,
That was the margin at Tuesday night's Council meeting was three votes to two, when a majority of this Council voted to allow an unlimited number of short-term rentals throughout our Coastal Zone. I was one of the two no votes, and I owe you a full explanation, which you will find below. But Tuesday was only one night of Hermosa's week. Friday brought the lights back to high school football, the weekend saw our community pack a fundraiser to bring dental and medical care to families in Fiji, and this morning I started the week with a simple request: give blood if you are able. One hard vote, and a dozen reminders of why this town is worth fighting for. Here is what you need to know.
🚨 Public Safety
🔹 Roll up a sleeve, save a life. The American Red Cross is hosting Power Red donation opportunities, and I used my platform this morning to encourage anyone eligible to take part. A Power Red donation allows donors with compatible blood types to give two units of red cells in a single visit, which makes each appointment count double for trauma patients, surgical patients, and people fighting cancer.
→ ⚡ Why it matters: The blood supply is emergency readiness in its purest form. Hospitals never stop needing it, and the only source is a neighbor who decides to show up. If you have an hour this week, this is one of the highest-impact ways to spend it.
👉 Find a blood donation appointment
🔹 The school-year rush is back on our streets. With students back in classrooms across the beach cities, weekday mornings mean more young pedestrians and cyclists on Valley, Ardmore, Prospect, and the routes in between. Please build an extra few minutes into your commute, slow down near crosswalks, and put the phone away.
→ 🎯 My take: We spent this summer grinding down sidewalk trip hazards along our safe routes to schools. The infrastructure is ready. Now the rest is on us as drivers, and I am asking every one of us to treat school routes like the precious corridors they are.
👉 Review Safe Routes to School resources
🌊 Environment & Protecting Our Coast
🔹 Coastal protection needs watchdogs, and we are lucky to have them. Big-money special interests never stop knocking at our coastal doors, and the pressure on public access and coastal resources is constant. That is why I recently thanked reporter Laura Garber and Easy Reader News for their coverage keeping our community informed and engaged on coastal protections. A free press asking hard questions is part of how the coast stays public.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: From my seat on the California Coastal Commission, I can tell you that the biggest threats to coastal access rarely announce themselves. They show up quietly, in filings and proposals, and they count on nobody paying attention. Informed residents are the antidote. Pay attention, stay involved, and help fight the good fight. The Commission's monthly agendas are posted online, and every hearing is open to public comment.
👉 View the Coastal Commission agenda page
🏘️ Housing
🔹 Where I stand on Tuesday's short-term rental vote. At our regular meeting on Tuesday, August 25, the Council voted 3 to 2 to permit short-term rentals throughout Hermosa Beach's Coastal Zone with no cap on their number. The policy includes no limit on how many rentals can concentrate in a single neighborhood, no minimum-stay requirement, no requirement that the owner actually live in the home, and no meaningful parking standards. Councilmember Michael Detoy and I voted no.
→ 💡 What this means: Any single-family or multifamily home in the Coastal Zone can now operate as a nightly rental. That changes the economics of housing in a big part of our city, because a home earning hotel income is worth more to an investor than a home rented to a long-term tenant or sold to a family.
→ 🎯 My take: I did not oppose this because I oppose short-term rentals. I opposed it because a far-reaching policy deserves guardrails and a genuine public process, and this one had neither. Every home that converts to a mini-hotel is one fewer home for a family or a long-term renter, at a moment when housing is scarce and our schools are watching enrollment decline. I asked for reasonable caps, real protections for tenants and neighborhoods, and meaningful community engagement before we leap. I did not prevail on Tuesday, but I am not done. Reversing damage like this is far harder than preventing it, and I will keep pressing for sensible limits. If this decision concerns you, or if you support it, I want to hear from you either way.
👉 Read my full statement (Instagram)
👉 Visit the City's short-term rentals page
👉 View meeting agendas, minutes, and video
💼 Economic Development
🔹 Meet Eric and Bobby at Red & Louie's Pizzeria. If you have not been in yet, Bobby runs the room like Sam Malone ran Cheers, with a laugh and a smile for everyone who walks through the door, and Eric keeps the whole operation humming. The pizza is the real deal too: legitimate Chicago-style thin crust and deep dish, right here in Hermosa.
→ ⚡ Why it matters: Places like this are where neighbors become friends. Our small businesses are betting on this town every single day, and the best way we can return the favor is to show up hungry.
🔹 Two hometown milestones worth celebrating. Hi-Fi Espresso just marked nine years of great coffee and genuine community in Hermosa Beach, and Hermosa Brewing Company's Hazy IPA is now sitting on Costco shelves, carrying a taste of our city well beyond our 1.4 square miles. Congratulations to both teams. Watching local businesses grow, thrive, and represent Hb out in the world never gets old.
👉 Celebrate Hi-Fi's anniversary (Instagram)
👉 See the Hermosa Brewing sighting (Instagram)
🏖️ Around Town
🔹 A Night for Fiji. Over the weekend, our generous community turned out in force for a fundraiser supporting the Fiji Dental and Medical Foundation, which works to bring dental and medical care to families who would otherwise go without. What a turnout it was. Generosity is a habit in this town, and weekends like this one prove it.
🔹 Friday night lights are back. Mira Costa High School football returned Friday night, with the Booster Club doing what booster clubs do best: turning a game into a community gathering. As a dad of two teenage boys, I will just say there are few better ways to mark the start of a school year than a Friday night in the stands.
→ ⚡ Why it matters: Supporting our schools is not only about budgets and boundaries. It is also about showing up on the bleachers so our students know the whole town is behind them.
🗳️ A Note on November
🔹 Grateful for Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell's endorsement. This past week, Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell endorsed my reelection campaign. Supervisor Mitchell has been a steady partner to Hermosa Beach and to me, in my roles on the Council and the Coastal Commission, from the very beginning. There is plenty of work ahead, and I am eager to keep rolling up our sleeves and delivering for Hb and Los Angeles County. Onward and upward together.
👉 View the endorsement post (Instagram)
🔹 Whoever earns your vote, make sure you can cast one. This November's election is too important to sit out. If you are new to the area, recently moved, or simply have not updated your voter registration, please take five minutes and do it today. It is simple, it is quick, and your voice matters.
👉 Register or update your voter registration
📅 Dates & Community Events
🔹 Saturday, September 5: First Saturday cleanup at the Hermosa Beach Veterans Memorial.
🔹 Monday, September 7: Labor Day. A well-earned day of rest, and a good moment to thank the workers who keep this town running.
🔹 Tuesday, September 8, 6:00 PM: Regular City Council meeting, Council Chambers, 1315 Valley Drive. Agendas post at least 72 hours in advance.
🔹 Thursday, September 10 to Sunday, September 13: The 3rd Annual Hermosa Beach Open brings championship beach volleyball back to the Pier. Free admission all four days.
👉 View the City calendar of events
👉 View City Council agendas and meeting information
📱 Stay Connected
If you have a service issue to report, the Go Hermosa! app is the most direct way to get it to the right department at City Hall.
👉 Submit a service request via Go Hermosa!
For community updates and commentary between editions, you can follow me on Instagram.
👉 Follow @RayForHermosa on Instagram
Some weeks in public service, you win the vote. Some weeks, you lose it and get back to work the next morning. What steadies me after a week like this one is everything else you just read: neighbors giving blood, packing fundraisers, cheering on students, and keeping watch over our coast. That is the Hermosa Beach I answer to, and it is a privilege to do so. If Tuesday's decision, the week ahead, or anything else in this edition is on your mind, hit reply. I read every message, and I hope to see you around town this week.
