Hermosa Beach

A tiny spade, like a black teardrop, is etched on the skin under Johnny Anderson's right eye. It's a tattooed salute to the World War II soldiers of Easy Company who he says wore the symbol on playing cards tucked into their helmets as amulets while fighting to liberate Nazi-occupied France. The spade joins a human canvas of skin-deep statements about Anderson's politics, faith and values. His body is covered with images of snakes, eagles, Christian iconography and assorted Americana, in what he regards as an individual's most ardent and enduring form of expression.

Last year brought a dose of real estate reality to San Marino, which alone among Los Angeles County's wealthy areas had managed to avoid the housing bust. The San Gabriel Valley town endured a 7.2% decline in its median home price, erasing gains of the previous two years. Overall, 2011 turned into a battle of the beach cities. Hermosa Beach was the big winner where home price gains were concerned and Malibu the biggest loser among ZIP Codes with medians above $1 million where at least 50 existing single-family homes were sold, according to statistics from San Diego-based DataQuick.

A Hermosa Beach woman survived up to four days with three bullets in her head before police discovered her on the floor of her apartment, authorities said Wednesday. Linda M. Dillon, 57, was rushed to South Bay Hospital, where she told police she tried to commit suicide. But police believe someone may have shot her, said Capt. Mike Lavin. "We have a lot of questions," Lavin said. "It's kind of a weird story."

Hugging the sand south of Hermosa Beach Pier, this three-story contemporary evokes a glass-clad lifeguard tower angled toward the water. The main living areas, the master bedroom and the office with balcony take in the ocean views. The dining room opens to a patio along the bike path and the beach. The details Location: 718 The Strand, Hermosa Beach 90254 Asking price: $6.5 million Architect: Dean Nota Year built: 1999 House size: Three bedrooms, four bathrooms, 3,100 square feet Lot size: 2,397 square feet Features: Granite kitchen counter, stainless appliances, master bathroom with double showers, a steam room and a tub About the area: Last year, 98 single-family homes sold in the 90254 ZIP Code at a median price of $1,100,000, according to DataQuick.

Want to fool merchants with a fake ID? Hack someone's text messages? Or how about tracking where your co-workers are, without their knowing it? There's an app for that. The explosion in smartphone and tablet applications that enable people to check the weather, follow their stocks and play Words With Friends has a dark side: apps that facilitate questionable if not outright illegal behavior. Apple's App Store, for example, offers Drivers License software that promises "unlimited access to realistic-looking licenses" for all 50 states.

Customer Carl Weissenberg went down to the corner market Sunday--not to shop, but to help stock the shelves at Boccato's Groceries. "I don't want Frank worrying about the store," said Weissenberg, an airline employee. "I want him to know things are being taken care of." That's the way things are these days at the tiny Hermosa Beach grocery store as owner Frank Boccato lies suffering from cancer.

Listing details Location: 3002 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach 90254 Asking price: $4.6 million Site previously sold for: $2.8 million in 2008 Size: Four bedrooms, three bathrooms and two half-baths in 3,600 square feet Additional features: Thermador appliances, parking for six vehicles, radiant floor heating, custom sound system Around the neighborhood: In 2009, 96 single-family homes...

A two-day music festival of jazz, pop, big band and blues was approved in concept by the City Council on Monday. If final approval is granted, Music Expo '86, proposed by the Chamber of Commerce as a fund-raiser for the Hermosa Beach Community Center Foundation, will be held in mid-October next year on the beach near the Hermosa Beach pier.

Hugging the sand south of Hermosa Beach Pier, this three-story contemporary evokes a glass-clad lifeguard tower angled toward the water. The main living areas, the master bedroom and the office with balcony take in the ocean views. The dining room opens to a patio along the bike path and the beach. The details Location: 718 The Strand, Hermosa Beach 90254 Asking price: $6.5 million Architect: Dean Nota Year built: 1999 House size: Three bedrooms, four bathrooms, 3,100 square feet Lot size: 2,397 square feet Features: Granite kitchen counter, stainless appliances, master bathroom with double showers, a steam room and a tub About the area: Last year, 98 single-family homes sold in the 90254 ZIP Code at a median price of $1,100,000, according to DataQuick.

When Bob Hare opened his Hermosa Beach coffeehouse in 1958, he called it the Insomniac because it was open until 3 a.m. He brewed his coffee in a 300-pound dry-cleaning boiler and served it to such high-profile members of the Beat Generation as Allen Ginsberg and Lenny Bruce, he later recalled. The coffeehouse also became a haven for folk and blues musicians and other performers. Ginsberg read his poem "Howl" and a 16-year-old Linda Ronstadt sang, Hare said in 1992 in The Times.

In one photograph on his Facebook page, Army Spc. Koran P. Contreras is wearing black Clark Kent glasses and a big smile. An intricate tattoo proclaiming "Infantry" decorates his right shoulder. As usual, he is making someone laugh. But in snapshots taken later on, after he was sent with his Army unit to Afghanistan, Contreras looks older. Out on patrol and dressed in full combat fatigues, the 21-year-old Lawndale infantryman shows a wary but determined face, weapons strapped over his shoulder.

Jon Burt lives in Torrance, but his real home is eight miles away. Early each morning, he loads himself on his seven-speed black bicycle for the hourlong ride. His destination: Hermosa Beach, a town made iconic by the legends of surfing. Burt is a huddle of clothes, hunched over the handlebars, white plastic bags hanging as sentries. "Stuff for the beach," he says of the contents. PHOTOS: Turkey Jon He is wrapped in layer upon layer of warmth topped by a flannel jacket, ripped in places.

Madison Elementary formed a "walking school bus" to get children - and their parents - to exercise. Good Stuff Restaurants started promoting to-go boxes so customers don't overeat. Crowne Plaza Hotel on Harbor Drive began opening some meetings with music and dancing. The cities of Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach are embarking on an ambitious experiment: improve the health of the entire region over a three-year period by transforming homes, workplaces and schools.

It's been an unbelievable season for Sean Scott and John Hyden, give or take one bad chicken sandwich, but Saturday was a rough time for one of the top U.S. beach volleyball teams. Scott and Hyden were bounced into the losers bracket of the Hermosa Beach Open after Matt Prosser and John Mayer beat them in the double-elimination tournament of the Jose Cuervo series, 16-21, 22-20, 15-13. The only thing preventing Scott and Hyden from winning every U.S. tournament they've entered this season is Scott's bout with food poisoning two weeks ago in a National Volleyball League event in Miami.

The thick screen of clouds created an obvious deterrent on the final day of the Hermosa Beach Open. Or maybe the sparse crowd could have been blamed on the third Sunday of the NFL season. Then the sun came out and beach volleyball fans seemingly followed it to the Hermosa Beach Pier to see Casey Jennings and Pedro Salgado beat Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, 21-18, 21-17, to win the third and final event of the Jose Cuervo series. Jennings hadn't done much on the beach this season other than a fifth-place finish in a tournament in the Netherlands.

The Pitcher House was a line in the sand. If you drove north on Pacific Coast Highway, it was one of the first businesses in Hermosa Beach, located in an old, slightly run-down bank building, making the place seem historic and mysterious at the same time. It was a reminder that Hermosa used to be a working-class town and a warning that you had only a few more miles until you hit the tonier Manhattan Beach. In the late 1990s, the Pitcher House was full of middle-aged surfers who'd push through the bar's swinging doors and drink a few Buds while keeping their distance from the just-out-of-college crowd doing upside-down margaritas on the Strand, Hermosa's bright, main drag that was starting to look more and more like Manhattan.

WHERE TO STAY The Beach House at Hermosa Beach, 1300 the Strand, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254; (310) 374-3001, http://www.beach-house.com . Ninety-six rooms, each with fireplace and balcony or patio. Rooms for two $229-$349 in winter, $299-$489 in summer. Shade Hotel, 1221 N. Valley Drive, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266; (310) 546-4995, http://www.shadehotel.com . Thirty-eight rooms, a small pool and restaurant, Zinc. Two blocks from the beach. Rooms for two $275 in winter, $365 in summer, with occasional Sunday-night discounts to $225.