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Ray Jackson Newsletter — July 19, 2026
📬 Councilmember Ray Jackson | Hermosa Beach | July 20, 2026
Good afternoon, Hermosa Beach,
The biggest sporting event on Earth just wrapped, and for one glorious stretch of July, the party ran straight through our sand. Sunday brought AAU beach volleyball in the morning and a beachside watch party for the World Cup Final in the afternoon, with Spain edging Argentina 1 to 0 in extra time. Earlier in the week, I was down at the LA Galaxy Hermosa Beach World Cup Party myself, and I will tell you what I posted that night: what a match, a roller coaster of emotions from start to finish, with an unforgettable atmosphere right on the sand.
Spain went home with a golden trophy. We get to keep our golden beach. Now, back to the work of running our city: street repairs start today, a few important dates are coming up, and there is news from around the region worth sharing. Here is what you need to know.
🚨 Public Safety
🔹 E-bike safety is not theoretical. It's real, and the consequences can be irreversible. That is the tragic reminder in a case out of Huntington Beach, where prosecutors have charged a man with felony vehicular manslaughter, nearly a year after they say he allowed 20-year-old surfer Kolby Aipa, widely remembered as California surf royalty, to hold onto his pickup truck while riding an e-bike before the crash that killed him.
→ 🎯 Why I shared this: I have been sounding the alarm on e-bike safety for a while now, including supporting statewide registration for the fastest classes of e-bikes, because high-speed devices and an honor-system rulebook are a dangerous combination. No charge, no verdict, and no law brings Kolby back. What we can do is talk with our kids, set real rules at home, and keep building the licensing, registration, and street design this technology has outpaced. May this serve as another cautionary tale that helps prevent the next tragedy. Please have that conversation this week.
🚧 On Our Streets & Sidewalks
🔹 Street sealing work begins today, citywide. Pavement Coatings Co., a contractor for the City, starts crack sealing and slurry sealing on various city streets this morning, Monday, July 20, with work expected to last up to six to seven weeks. Crews will work Mondays through Fridays, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, sealing asphalt cracks to block moisture and prevent further pavement failure, then applying slurry seal and fresh striping to extend the life of the road surface.
→ 💡 What to expect: No parking in active work areas during work hours, loud construction noise at times, and minimal dust or smell. Watch for posted signs on your block so your car is not in the path of the sealing crew.
→ 🎯 My take: In a tight budget year, this is exactly where I want our dollars going. The cheapest repair in public works is the one that keeps a small crack from becoming a big pothole, and preventive maintenance like this is how a small city protects a very large investment in its streets.
👉 View the construction details (Instagram)
🔹 Sidewalk trip hazards are getting ground down too. A second crew, BPR Inc., began work last Monday, July 13 grinding down trip hazards on public sidewalks along Valley Drive, Ardmore Avenue, Prospect Avenue, and other major corridors that serve as our main safe routes to schools. Grinding happens weekdays from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, takes roughly ten minutes per location, and sidewalks stay open the whole time.
→ ⚡ Why it matters: A raised sidewalk edge is a broken wrist waiting to happen, especially for our kids walking to school and our seniors out for a morning stroll. Smoothing these hazards out now, before the school year starts, is quiet work that prevents real injuries.
👉 Read the construction notice
🌊 Environment & Protecting Our Coast
🔹 A new park rises next door, and it carries a name that means a lot to me. Congratulations to our neighbors in Redondo Beach on the opening of Bill Brand Gateway Park along Herondo Street, their first new park in decades. It is always great to see new parks come to life, especially one that honors someone who worked so hard to make it happen. The community ribbon cutting is Tuesday, July 28 at 3:00 PM, and everyone is welcome.
→ 🎯 A personal note: Mayor Bill Brand was a big influence on me when I was first elected to this Council. He opened my eyes to the importance of coastal access, green space, and always thinking beyond today's issues to the legacy we leave for future generations. A park built on restored native habitat, at the site of his last public appearance, is exactly the legacy he would have wanted. I hope to see plenty of Hermosa faces there honoring him.
👉 View the ribbon cutting details (Instagram)
💰 Budget & Finance
🔹 Parking fine changes take effect Saturday, August 1. A reminder before the calendar flips: under the updated citation schedule Council approved, most parking citations, including expired meters and time limits, will be $75, and street sweeping violations will be $55. The late penalty is changing too. A citation left unpaid for 21 days will double, with a late fee equal to 100 percent of the original fine.
→ 💡 Plain English: Feed the meter, move for the sweeper, and if you do get a ticket, pay or contest it promptly rather than letting it sit on the kitchen counter. You have until the end of this month before the new amounts kick in, and I would much rather you hear it from me now than from an envelope on your windshield in August.
👉 Read the City's announcement
🏘️ Community Development
🔹 Help shape the rules for our commercial districts. City planning staff are hosting Zoning Code Update Office Hours to walk residents, business owners, and property owners through proposed updates to commercial zoning regulations and development standards. The in-person session is Monday, July 27 from 4:30 to 6:00 PM in Council Chambers at City Hall, 1315 Valley Drive, with a virtual session to follow on Wednesday, August 5 from 5:00 to 6:30 PM.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: Zoning is where a community's values become enforceable rules. I have long believed decisions about what gets built here should be shaped by the people who live and do business here, and informal office hours like these are the easiest possible way to ask a question or flag a concern before anything hardens into a draft ordinance. If you care about the future of our commercial blocks, this is your invitation.
👉 View the office hours details
💼 Economic Development
🔹 The World Cup was very good to Hermosa Beach. Between the LA Galaxy watch parties on the sand, Sunday's AAU beach volleyball, and the final watch party that capped it all off, our restaurants, shops, and beachfront businesses got a run of summer crowds most beach towns can only dream about. Eat. Shop. Cheer. Repeat. That was the formula, and our town delivered on every part of it.
→ 🎯 My take: This tournament also reminded me of something I posted about Team USA earlier this month: our diversity has always been our strength. Different backgrounds, different stories, one flag, one team. Watching neighbors and visitors from everywhere cheering side by side on our sand was Hermosa at its best. My thanks to the LA Galaxy, our event organizers, our public safety teams, and every local business that stayed staffed up and welcomed the world.
🇺🇸 Service Beyond Our Borders
🔹 Still riding the high from the ICA Summer Seminar in Coronado. I spent a few days earlier this month with local government leaders from across the region at the Independent Cities Association Summer Seminar. Great company, engaging conversations, and unique sessions made for an unforgettable experience, and every presentation offered new ideas and valuable takeaways I intend to put to work here at home. As ICA's President-Elect, I am already looking ahead to our September Board Installation in San Fernando.
→ 💡 Why I invest the time: We are a city of 1.4 square miles. Regional partnerships are how small cities punch above their weight on the problems no city solves alone, from insurance and infrastructure to public safety. When Hermosa has a seat at those tables, Hermosa's voice gets heard.
🔹 Congratulations to friends around the region. In Lakewood, one mayoral term ended and another began. Congratulations to three-time Mayor Jeff Wood, the consummate public servant and a mentor to so many of us, and to newly elected Councilmember Rudy Villarreal as he begins his service. I also want to salute Lakewood's outgoing Mayor, whose theme of kindness, care, and civic action was not just a slogan but a promise she lived every day. We are lucky to serve alongside neighbors like these.
🗳️ A Note on November
🔹 I have officially pulled papers to continue representing the people of Hermosa Beach. Serving our community has been the privilege of a lifetime, and I am proud of what we have accomplished together. But our work is not finished. There is still much more to do, and the challenges ahead will require steady, experienced leadership. I am ready to continue delivering thoughtful leadership, common sense, honesty, and results for our amazing little beach city, and I would be honored to earn your trust and your vote once again this November.
👉 View the announcement (Instagram)
📅 Dates & Community Events
🔹 Monday, July 20: Citywide crack sealing and slurry sealing begins. Work continues weekdays, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, for up to six to seven weeks.
🔹 Monday, July 27, 4:30 to 6:00 PM: Zoning Code Update in-person office hours. Council Chambers, City Hall, 1315 Valley Drive.
🔹 Tuesday, July 28, 3:00 PM: Bill Brand Gateway Park ribbon cutting along Herondo Street in Redondo Beach.
🔹 Tuesday, July 28, 6:00 PM: Regular City Council meeting, our first since June. Council Chambers, 1315 Valley Drive. Agendas post at least 72 hours in advance.
🔹 Saturday, August 1: First Saturday cleanup at the Hermosa Beach Veterans Memorial, and the day the new parking citation amounts take effect.
🔹 Wednesday, August 5, 5:00 to 6:30 PM: Zoning Code Update virtual office hours.
👉 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
For a few weeks this summer, the whole world was watching soccer, and some of it was watching from our beach. This week, the spotlight moves on and the quieter work resumes: sealing streets, grinding sidewalks, updating zoning rules, honoring a mentor with a park. I find real satisfaction in both kinds of weeks, and I am grateful you take a few minutes each Monday to follow along. If you have a question about the street work on your block, the parking changes, or anything else in this newsletter, hit reply. I read every message, and I hope to see you in Council Chambers on July 28, or somewhere along The Strand before then.
