Get current on the posting of Council meeting minutes (and videos), stay current, and hold the City Manager fully accountable for never again allowing the unprecedented six month delinquency that recently existed (despite the hiring of an outside contractor to perform this routine duty of the City Clerk)!
It has been over 100 days since a Daily Breeze editorial chided the Manhattan Beach City Council on problems that still remain – late meetings; postponing of agenda items; lack of transparency; and the interminable length of remarks by councilmembers.
The source of these problems also remains, i.e. rather than dual responsibility, the failure of the Council to hold itself accountable for policymaking, while holding the city manager and staff accountable for implementation.
Instead, under the guise of meeting management, the Council recently passed measures further gagging residents and silencing criticism, including reneging on allowing public comment on policy decisions made at meetings rather than only non-agenda items; and, failure to strengthen open meeting and public information access provisions as allowable under law.
As the Daily Breeze stated, “Manhattan Beach is a first-class city. It deserves first-class meeting management,” not practices that “actually work against open government by dissuading regular citizens from attending.”
Edward C. Caprielian, Ph.D. Manhattan Beach Resident
"How to Help Employees Unleash Their Producitivity"
As an entrepreneur, you work hard. Very hard. But make no mistake about it--you can't be the only one. To succeed in the long run, you need the active and engaged participation of your employees. This means unleashing the energy that is within each one of them. Here's how.
Catch Them Doing Something Right
Outstanding organizations share success with their employees. Management highlights constructive processes, strategies and employee ideas, then publicizes how they benefit the organization. When your employees are doing something right, let people know about it. Encourage outstanding, sustained performance by showing them how much their efforts are appreciated.
Set the Bar High
Set high standards for communication, productivity and professionalism throughout your organization. If at times these standards are not met, work closely with your employees to find ways to get back on track. Don't lower your standards. Instead, partner with your employees and take on challenges as a team. Enlist your their input to identify blocking issues, focus attention on possible solutions and strive to meet and exceed expectations.
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Communicate professionally, clearly and often. Employees expect management's honest assessment of their performance. When things are running smoothly, highlight what is working and communicate success throughout the organization. When problems challenge progress, consider the potential impact you can have by constructively discussing your concerns. Use communication as a tool to inspire and motivate, as well as to direct and resolve problems.
Trust Your Employees
The best managers understand that organizational success is directly tied to the success of their employees, and they work to build bridges of trust. Establish trust by creating a safe, positive working environment with open and honest two-way communication. Give your people the benefit of the doubt, then help them up if they sometimes stumble.
Help Employees Grow
Set your employees up for success, not failure. Provide them with the tools and training to meet and exceed high standards. Encourage them to identify their strengths and motivations. Show them how your organization has benefitted from their efforts, and how this in turn benefits them. Determine what drives your people, then incorporate that into their daily tasks.
Create and Maintain a Productive Environment
Create and maintain a positive, industrious and pleasant working environment. Productive, motivated people drive outstanding organizations. Ensure employees feel challenged with their jobs, but not overwhelmed. Delegate tasks and encourage people into positions of greater complexity and responsibility whenever possible so employees are always in motion and have a stake in the organization's success.
Build a Community
Make sure your employees feel like they are a part of something special and that their efforts are truly appreciated. Partner with them by involving them directly in the success of the organization. Create and cultivate a sense of camaraderie, where people look forward to coming to work because they want to be a part of your company's success story.
By unleashing the energy of your employees and getting out of the way, you can create a high-energy workforce. Once this energy is fully unleashed, your business will grow by leaps and bounds.
Source: Internnational City/County Management Association - ICMA Smart Brief - October 8, 2013. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eMrjClsasTCkyWcmCidmzrCicNtpLs
The following is a Letter to the Editor appearing in the November 14, 2013 issue of the Daily Breeze submitted by Nelle Overstreet, a Manhattan Beach resident in response to the DB October 31 article, “City facilities, parking structures need millions in repairs.”
Since we do live by the ocean, it is expected that Manhattan Beach structures will deteriorate over a shorter time than those inland. Those conditions should have been taken into consideration before they reached their current state of disrepair.
The consultants reported 23 out of 43 facilities were in very poor, poor or fair condition. The penultimate was to read that our 8-year-old police/fire department building was in need of $1.8 million in repairs over the next 10 years due to: “The building was not built up to code; it was not inspected properly…” This should be unacceptable to the citizens of Manhattan Beach who depend upon our City Hall denizens to see to our city’s interests. Who OK’d this mess? Who allowed it to be approved along the way? The blame should not just be put on the contractor, but also on those in City Hall responsible for this fiasco. Someone needs to step up to the plate and accept responsibility. Citizens are owed an explanation from past and present City Councils.
Nelle Overstreet, Manhattan Beach
The Manhattan Beach City Council has taken action to reaffirm its focus on policymaking while ensuring it holds the city manager and staff accountable for policy implementation. Specifically, recommendations by Councilmember Tony D’Errico and Councilmember Wayne Powell, that garnered overall support by the Council, provide a needed clear differentiation between governance and management responsibilities.
Under this differentiation, the City Council’s primary responsibility is to the residents representing the ownership of Manhattan Beach as expressed through the community’s stakeholders. As a result, governance is a downward extension of ownership rather than an upward extension by the city’s administrators. In straightforward terms, the tail is no longer wagging the dog.
We, the residents, benefit because the City Council governs with an emphasis on outward vision rather than internal preoccupation; encouragement of diversity of viewpoints; strategic leadership rather than administrative detail; assurance of management accountability; and, proactivity rather than reactivity.
Further, these policy governance parameters and benefits will allow the Manhattan Beach City Council to empower the city manager and staff, thereby allowing them greater opportunities to demonstrate their competencies, creativity, and commitment toward achievement of policy-defined results.
Therefore, residents should demonstrate continued encouragement and support of these policy governance efforts to ensure city council policymaking represents the overall interests of our community, including the effective and efficient use of the resources we entrust to our elected officials.
Edward C. Caprielian, Ph.D. Manhattan Beach
Editor Daily Breeze
Re: “Meetings to focus on residents’ priorities,” (Daily Breeze, December 11, 2013)
Manhattan Beach residents should note and applaud Hermosa Beach’s continued “Community Dialogue,” a “public engagement” process whereby elected officials are encouraging Hermosans to influence critical decisions on priorities and revenue generation. Through outreach, consultation, and creative consensus building dynamics, Hermosa Beach is promoting empowerment of residents and consultative democracy.
In contrast, Manhattan Beach has eschewed public engagement. Its elected officials rely on formalized “public participation” characterized by one-way communication patronizing residents into impotency rather than public deliberation and sustained problem solving. Cities and counties throughout California are recognizing the benefits of public engagement.
For Hermosans, the process is benefiting the building of their unique community identity rather than wanting “to be like Manhattan Beach” or “become Rodeo Drive at the beach.”
Edward C. Caprielian, Ph.D. Manhattan Beach
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Manhattan Beach woman, children held captive in home by burglar
A woman awoke in her Manhattan Beach home Thursday night to find a burglar in her bedroom, where she was sleeping with her two children, according to police.
The victim told police that a man wearing a ski mask entered her home in the 400 block of Altura Way through a rear sliding glass door. He entered the bedroom and asked her the whereabouts of her husband, money, jewelry and cell phone. He then told her to stay in the bedroom while he searched the house for valuables. She called the Manhattan Beach Police Department when she heard him exit through the front door.
No weapons were used, and no one was injured, according to police. Officers were unable to locate the suspect, who is described as 6-foot-2 with a thin build. At the time he was wearing a ski mask and knit gloves.
Anyone with information including suspicious persons or vehicles seen in the area Thursday evening should contact MBPD Det. Shawn Thompson at 310-802-5124 or Det. Sgt. Paul Ford at 310-802-5124.
Esther King Easy Reader
体育博彩的起源与发展 体育博彩是一种将体育赛事与博彩相结合的娱乐形式，历史可以追溯到古希腊和罗马时代。当时，人们通过对角斗士比赛和马车赛的结果下注来增加观看比赛的乐趣。随着时间的推移，体育博彩逐渐扩展到足球、篮球、赛马等现代体育项目中。20世纪以来，随着电视和互联网的普及，体育博彩行业迅速发展，成为全球范围内备受欢迎的娱乐活动之一。如今，体育博彩已经不再局限于线下渠道，在线平台的兴起使得用户可以随时随地参与，极大地推动了这一行业的快速增长。
体育博彩的多样化形式 现代体育博彩形式多样化，涵盖了各种体育项目和投注方式。最常见的包括足球、篮球、网球、橄榄球和赛马等热门项目，此外还有电子竞技等新兴领域的博彩。投注方式也非常灵活，从简单的胜负投注到更复杂的比分预测、球员表现和特殊事件投注。例如，在足球比赛中，用户可以下注比赛结果、进球数、角球数等。此外，实时投注（Live Betting）功能允许用户在比赛进行中根据赛事变化调整投注策略，这种互动性增强了博彩的趣味性和挑战性。
体育博彩的经济影响 体育博彩不仅是一种娱乐形式，也对全球经济产生了显著影响。合法化的体育博彩行业每年创造数十亿美元的收入，为许多国家的经济增长做出了贡献。这些收入通常用于支持体育事业、教育和公共服务。例如，在一些国家，体育博彩的税收被用来资助体育场馆建设、青少年体育项目和其他社会福利项目。然而，非法博彩活动也对经济和社会造成了一定的负面影响，如洗钱和欺诈行为。因此，合理的监管和法律框架对于确保行业健康发展至关重要。
体育博彩的技术进步与便利性 随着技术的不断进步，体育博彩行业发生了革命性的变化。在线平台和移动应用程序的出现使得用户可以随时随地参与博彩活动。用户只需通过智能手机或电脑即可访问各种博彩平台，查看实时赔率、比赛数据和投注选项。此外，大数据和人工智能技术的应用帮助博彩平台提供更精准的分析和预测，用户可以基于这些数据做出更明智的投注决策。虚拟现实（VR）和增强现实（AR）技术的引入也让用户体验更加沉浸式，为体育博彩注入了新的活力 娛樂城。
体育博彩的社会问题与监管挑战 尽管体育博彩为许多人提供了娱乐和经济收益，但它也带来了一些社会问题，如赌博成瘾和家庭经济危机。一些人因过度博彩而陷入债务困境，甚至影响到心理健康和家庭关系。此外，未成年人接触博彩活动的问题也引发了广泛关注。因此，许多国家和地区通过立法和监管措施来限制博彩活动的负面影响。例如，设置年龄限制、强制性博彩自我排查系统以及提供赌博成瘾治疗服务等，都是常见的应对策略。这些措施旨在确保博彩行业的可持续发展，同时保护消费者权益。
体育博彩的未来趋势与展望 体育博彩行业的未来充满机遇和挑战。随着区块链技术的应用，博彩交易的透明性和安全性将得到进一步提升，用户可以更加放心地参与博彩活动。此外，电子竞技博彩的快速崛起和新兴市场的开放也为行业带来了新的增长点。另一方面，如何平衡行业发展与社会责任仍然是一个重要课题。未来，体育博彩行业需要在技术创新、用户体验优化和社会责任之间找到平衡点，从而在全球范围内实现可持续发展.
“Manhattan Beach has been nicknamed the ‘Pearl of the South Bay’ for its beauty and desirability.” (Wikipedia) Further, we deservedly have pride in our volunteer and philanthropic organizations whose generosity and contributions illustrate our characteristics as an ideal community defined by Stephen Covey (“7 Habits of Highly Effective People”): principled-centered goodness; being of one heart with a common vision and direction; and, one mind with an approach to problem solving that is synergistic, not adversarial.
However, the flawed iridescence of our “Pearl” is inadequate resident participation in our city’s governance – a flaw not sufficiently addressed by city council candidates. In the previous election, 21.41 percent of registered voters cast ballots. Perhaps only 50-100 residents actively attend city council meetings and organize to shape our city’s mission; challenge councilmembers when their policy decisions are imperfect; or, praise their gems.
The main culprit for the flaw are 15 past years of city councils directed by a former city manager and city attorney to minimize engagement of residents in public policymaking – allowing only comments at council meetings to pacify the “gadflies,” the civic activists often denigrated by councilmembers.
To magnify the iridescence of our “Pearl” requires “public engagement” by councilmembers, i.e. delegating authority to residents through education, outreach, dialogue, and empowerment in the public policymaking arenas such as strategic planning, labor relations, budgeting, community development, and in the often stated but neglected goal of “maintaining our small beach-town character.” Then our “Pearl” will attain the metaphor of it being something truly rare and admirable.
Edward C. Caprielian, Ph.D. Manhattan Beach