Hermosa just sent a 0.5% sales tax toward your November ballot — plus the 37% bracket line and a record $2M for MB schools

The one thing. Hermosa shoppers will likely face a November vote on paying 50 cents more per $100 spent in town: on Tuesday (June 23) the council directed staff to draft ballot language for a 0.5% local sales tax — half the 1% rate the spring survey tested, projected to raise about $4M a year against the deficit. Nothing’s law yet; the actual vote is yours this fall. What was decided →

Also in Hermosa. The same night the council adopted its FY 2026-27 budget with a projected $1.3M surplus — a breather after this spring’s $3.2M gap, though commenters flagged a $5M hole in FY 2027-28. Sooner to bite: parking fines rise August 1, and the late penalty doubles to the full ticket amount.

Your money. If your household clears roughly $640K, your top dollars now sit in the 37% federal bracket for 2026 (single filers; $768,700 married), under the brackets the One Big Beautiful Bill locked in. The standard deduction rises to $32,200 married / $16,100 single, and the AMT exemption starts phasing out at $500K single. Whether itemizing still beats that higher floor turns on your California SALT load — a number worth running with your CPA. What changed, translated →

At City Hall. If you own a Manhattan Beach lot, the city is finalizing what you and your neighbors can build: council introduced its Housing Element ordinance 4-1 on June 16, Mayor Franklin the lone no, aligning ADU, manufactured-housing and supportive-housing rules with state law. Staff warned that rejecting it risks the state decertifying MB’s housing plan and loosening local control further. A second reading locks it in — watch the July agenda. Our overlay explainer →

Schools. Manhattan Beach families poured a record $2M into their schools at MBEF’s 32nd Wine Auction on June 6 — the biggest single-event haul in its history, with 2,400 guests. The catch: the foundation has paused its educator-grant program to route every dollar to keeping teachers in classrooms against a roughly $6.8M district deficit. At MBEF’s own math, $125K restores one teaching position.

The pulse. Headed to the water this weekend? Conditions are mellow and clean — NOAA’s buoy off Santa Monica read a 3-foot swell at a long 16-second period with 66°F water Thursday morning, so expect the odd bigger set. No shark advisory or beach closure was in effect for MB, Hermosa or El Porto as of Thursday’s check.

This week.
• Sat 6/28: Jay Ko live, 2nd Story Theatre, 7 PM, Pier Ave (HB) — Eventbrite
• Sun 6/29: 6th Annual South Bay Pride Paddle & Lunch, 11 AM, King Harbor Yacht Club (HB) — an established community paddle, worth the early start — Eventbrite
• Tue 6/30: MB Farmers Market, 11 AM–3 PM, Civic Center lot off 15th St (MB) — Details

One question. The case for Hermosa’s 0.5% sales tax rests on one claim: that much of the bill falls on visitors, not residents. As someone who actually shops and eats in town, does that feel right — or does it land on locals? Hit reply; we read every one.

— Written and edited by Jamie Marsh