Long Beach Ballet (LBB) successfully delivered its annual “The Nutcracker” extravaganza during five performances last weekend—complete with scores of performers, sumptuous sets, exciting pyrotechnics and, of course, beautiful ballet dancing. 

LBB Artistic Director David Wilcox’s conceptualization, direction and choreography shone brightly in this year’s production. A humble chimney sweep (Ken Datugan) seeking work at the home of young Clara (wonderfully performed by Maeve Callahan) and her family helps set the stage as they greet Christmas Eve party guests. 

In addition to the full orchestra playing Tchaikovsky’s melodic score (excellently conducted by Roger Hickman), one immediately notices the very detailed costumes by an array of designers (Adrian Clarke, Donna Dickens, Ann de Farra, Hilde Byrne and Cheryl Cartwright). The girls’ frocks and ladies’ dresses especially stood out, cut similarly but with uniquely charming patterns and textures, plus lots of bows. 

Floor-to-ceiling sets were similarly enchanting (designed by Elliott Hessayon, Rex Heuschkel and Scott Shaffer), with a wall full of portraits in Clara’s warm family home and an adorned Christmas tree and presents that very magically grew as her perspective changed to that of her beloved nutcracker doll (a robust Benjohn Magcalas) when he came to life to defend her against creepy mice led by a melodramatic mouse king (Craig Rexroad). 

Delzio Design’s pyrotechnics surprised during that fight as the nutcracker and his army fired cannons and muskets with loud booms and glowing sparks. And once the nutcracker transformed into a prince (Steven Morse), he and Clara alighted into the air in a sleigh at the end of the first act before floating angels opened the second act.

Despite all the enthralling staging, it was the music and ballet dancing that sustained the audience’s attention. Long Beach Terrace Theatre acoustics allowed the melodies to reverberate loud and clear while remaining sharp. And LBB’s many young students and their talented teachers graced the stage confidently in their various dances invoking snow and sweets.

A scene from Long Beach Ballet’s “The Nutcracker,” to be performed Dec. 17-19 at the Terrace Theatre. (Photo by Katie Ging)

Megan Wilcox as the Sugarplum Fairy stood out for her poise and precision. Her grand pas de deux with our handsome nutcracker prince Morse (from the San Francisco Ballet) was both technically and aesthetically exquisite. Aurora Gray’s technique as the Dewdrop Fairy also captivated.

Beyond grace, athletically exuberant performances by the three Russian Dance performers (Alfredo Garcia, Hector Garcia and Magcalas) stole the show, as did two jolly jesters (Aaron Augustin and young acrobatic Emily Medillin). 

If you weren’t able to attend LBB’s “The Nutcracker” this year, mark your calendars for December 2022, when LBB will most likely return for its annual performance. In the meantime, a video recording of this year’s performance is available to rent for $25 or purchase for $50 through LBB’s website’s “Gallery” page.  

You can also look forward to LBB’s production of “Don Quixote” this summer, which it describes as “the romantic, mad-cap adventures of history’s favorite knight!” Based on Miguel de Cervantes’s novel Don Quixote de la Mancha, the ballet was originally choreographed in 1869 to the music of Ludwig Minkus by Marius Petipa—who also created “The Nutcracker” ballet.

Like “The Nutcracker,” the ballet “Don Quixote” includes a dreamlike adventure, sword-fighting, fairies and even puppetry. And as with “The Nutcracker,” LBB will likely fill the stage with dozens of engaging and graceful performers, lovely costumes and fun set designs, all animated by a live orchestra.

“Don Quixote” is scheduled to be performed on June 4th and 5th at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center at 6200 E. Atherton St. on the CSULB campus. Tickets will be available for purchase “soon” through LBB’s website, Longbeachballet.com.

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Self-described “girl boss bakery” Butter & Crumble is opening its own brick-and-mortar space Wednesday after three successful years of pop-ups in San Francisco’s Marina District. For young baker Sophie Smith, the move to North Beach feels like fate.

Formerly the cooking school Tante Marie’s, the Francisco Street location is where Smith’s mother—who taught her to bake—learned to cook. The building stood vacant for years until Smith and her buttercream cakes, pistachio cardamom croissants and pumpkin cruffins moved in. 

“The neighbors are so grateful to have a business back in here again,” Smith said. 

Sophie Smith, left, and Nicki Volante, right, working on croissants in the bakery of Butter & Crumble in San Francisco. | Source: Julie Zigoris/The Standard

Smith has kept elements of the former cooking school: wooden cooking surfaces, an oversized whisk hanging above the entrance and a demonstration mirror suspended above the front counter. 

Yet the 27-year-old baker has added plenty of her own touches. She’s curated a selection of artisanal goods, including four versions of Butter & Crumble tote bags by local designers, lots of greenery courtesy of That SF Plant Guy and flowers by Urban Virgo in a space dominated with the pale pink of employees’ aprons. 

Smith honed her skills during the pandemic, at first baking only for family and friends. 

Covid “gave a lot of cooks and pastry chefs time to develop their craft,” she said. “It’s both a blessing and a curse.”  

The menu at Butter & Crumble in San Francisco includes croissants, cookies and pastries. | Source: Julie Zigoris/The Standard

She sold her pastries at weekend pop-ups that garnered round-the-block lines on Saturdays and Sundays, using empty kitchen spaces to up her production—including a partnership with the Marina bar Westwood. 

While she got her start with buttercream cakes—the logo of Butter & Crumble is a layer cake—she soon added pastries to her repertoire. Some of her most popular items include a croissant rolled up with bacon, a soft egg and herbs and her pistachio cardamom croissants. 

On Tuesday morning, contractors took care of the final touches before permitting inspectors arrived. Smith and fellow bakers Nicki Volante and Melissa Nuñez bustled about the kitchen, testing chai-scented buns and sugar syrups. 

The next creation? A new croissant that includes mortadella, Gruyère and pistachio pesto. 

“It’s an ode to our new North Beach home,” Smith said. 

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On Wednesday, October 25, Sophie Smith will open her dreamy North Beach bakery Butter & Crumble in the former Tante Marie’s Cooking School at 271 Francisco Street in North Beach. The road to moving the small business into a permanent space wasn’t smooth thanks to permitting issues, and neither was the road to becoming a pop-up due to the red tape Smith navigated while renting out a shared kitchen. But, ultimately, Smith’s is a story of triumph. She says the 1,300-square-foot shop is ideal for baking and teaching croissant-making classes — it’s also steeped in nostalgia for the former students of Tante Marie’s, who include Smith’s mother.

Customer favorites will fill the opening menu including Smith’s bacon, egg, and cheese croissant in all its yolky glory, plus sweet options such as a pistachio and cardamom sugar croissant, pain au chocolat, and a chocolate chip cookie, all of which will remain constants. Diners will also have sweet and savory danishes, including a potato-herb version, to choose from. A seasonal cruffin flavor will rotate, and to kick things off for fall Smith plans to debut a cozy pumpkin number. Smith will also offer one vegan and one gluten-free bakery item at all times, such as her popular gluten-free banana-cinnamon coffee cake.

Butter & Crumble

Smith and pastry assistant Nicki Volante traveled to Europe for inspiration during the buildout, sampling treats from bakeries in Florence, Paris, and Copenhagen. The popular cardamom croissant from Hart Bageri in Copenhagen inspired an item the team calls the Dirty Chai Situation, which is formed by a “cluster” of croissant dough scraps. Smith’s take on a cinnamon roll, meanwhile, gets formed as a knot to achieve more filling distribution without drying out the dough.

Those who first fell for Smith’s cakes will soon see pre-orders open up again, and the plan is to eventually offer cakes for walk-ins. With the extra space in the shop, Smith says Butter & Crumble will expand its seasonal offerings with Thanksgiving pies and Christmas cookies, as well. As for drinks, Smith is offering drip coffee and cold brew to start, with an espresso machine to be added later. She partnered with Ana Valle of Abanico Coffee Roasters to create a special blend for the shop.

Building out the Butter & Crumble bakery has been a testament to Smith’s strong following. She’s posted on Instagram about the issues she encountered while getting the bakery open, and customers have stepped up to help get her across the finish line. Butter & Crumble’s many fans funded the shop through SMBX, an investment company that allows the public to buy bonds to support small businesses and receive repayment plus interest; helped with design; facilitated contractor introductions; and more. “There’s always unexpected challenges that have tested our budget and our sense of timeline,” Smith says, “and navigating that process has been tricky, but I’ve had a really great support system and team helping me do it.”

Butter & Crumble

Butter & Crumble

Former Tante Marie’s students will notice Smith kept a few elements from the school. For instance, a ceiling-mounted cooking demonstration mirror remains, angled so customers can follow along as the Butter & Crumble team rolls out pastries. It’s one of Smith’s favorite features, and perhaps an invaluable teaching tool once Butter & Crumble returns to offering classes. Smith kept much of the school’s character, maintaining what she calls “this nice combination of a commercial kitchen with more homey touches.” Other homages include a metal whisk at the bakery door, a remnant from Tante Marie’s. A pastry sheeter will sit prominently in the front window, and the open kitchen will show customers the not-so-behind-the-scenes baking process. “It’s always been a dream of mine to create in an open format bakery,” Smith says, “because I think it’s so cool for customers to see the process behind our products. Especially with something like laminated pastries, where a lot of love goes into those pastries — they’re quite labor intensive.”

Smith is also adding a retail shop highlighting local small businesses. Ceramics from Altar Ceramics, bouquets from Julie Enright of Urban Virgo Flower Truck & Events, plants from That SF Plant Guy, and greeting cards from Missive will grace the shelves. Smith worked with artists Jasmine Nguyen, Blair Stingley, Asra Sarfraz, and Kathy Dong on Butter & Crumble totes to be sold at the store. While the retail area is not quite the dine-in cafe Smith first envisioned, it does create an opportunity for a sweet break outdoors. “I’ve just fallen in love with this area of North Beach,” Smith says. “It’s a really cute neighborhood and Washington Square Park is super close, I’m hoping people will grab their pastries and go on a nice walk.”

Butter & Crumble (271 Francisco Street) debuts on Wednesday, October 25 and will be open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.

Sophie Smith, owner of San Francisco bakery Butter & Crumble

Butter & Crumble

Four tote bag designs for Butter & Crumble

Butter & Crumble

Butter & Crumble

Butter & Crumble

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PACIFICA, Calif. — A surfer suffered a leg injury in a possible shark attack off the California coast just south of San Francisco, authorities said.

Emergency responders were called Friday afternoon following reports that someone had been bitten by a shark, the Pacifica Police Department said.

They found a 52-year-old man who said he had been surfing at Linda Mar Beach “when something bit his lower leg causing injury,” said a police statement Saturday.

“The surfer was able to exit the water and call for medical assistance,” the statement said. “The victim could not see what bit his leg and could not confirm if it was a shark.”

The man, who was not identified, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

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PACIFICA, Calif. (AP) — A surfer suffered a leg injury in a possible shark attack off the California coast just south of San Francisco, authorities said.

Emergency responders were called Friday afternoon following reports that someone had been bitten by a shark, the Pacifica Police Department said.

They found a 52-year-old man who said he had been surfing at Linda Mar Beach “when something bit his lower leg causing injury,” said a police statement Saturday.

“The surfer was able to exit the water and call for medical assistance,” the statement said. “The victim could not see what bit his leg and could not confirm if it was a shark.”

The man, who was not identified, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. His condition wasn’t known Sunday.

The incident occurred about two weeks after a swimmer was reported missing near Point Reyes National Seashore, northwest of San Francisco Bay, after witnesses reported seeing a shark in the water. The man has yet to be found, SF Gate reported Sunday.

The U.S. Coast Guard said that it could not confirm whether the swimmer’s disappearance was related to a shark attack.

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PACIFICA, Calif. (AP) — A surfer suffered a leg injury in a possible shark attack off the California coast just south of San Francisco, authorities said.

Emergency responders were called Friday afternoon following reports that someone had been bitten by a shark, the Pacifica Police Department said.

They found a 52-year-old man who said he had been surfing at Linda Mar Beach “when something bit his lower leg causing injury,” said a police statement Saturday.

“The surfer was able to exit the water and call for medical assistance,” the statement said. “The victim could not see what bit his leg and could not confirm if it was a shark.”

The man, who was not identified, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. His condition wasn’t known Sunday.

The incident occurred about two weeks after a swimmer was reported missing near Point Reyes National Seashore, northwest of San Francisco Bay, after witnesses reported seeing a shark in the water. The man has yet to be found, SF Gate reported Sunday.

The U.S. Coast Guard said that it could not confirm whether the swimmer’s disappearance was related to a shark attack.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Constance “Connie” Hershey was born on May 3, 1934, and raised in Givhans, S.C., but for the last three years, lived in Fernandina Beach, Fla., with her daughter and family. She passed away the morning of Sept. 8, 2023, at the age of 89 at home.
Connie was the daughter of Robert Ilderton Limehouse and Eula Mae Campbell Limehouse, both of Givhans, S.C. She was the youngest of four children and for whom she preceeded in death, Robert Mendenhall Limehouse of Givhans, S.C., Annie Mae Bowick of Charleston, S.C., and June LaVern Murdaugh of Givhans, S.C. Connie grew up on her family farm and graduated from Ridgeville High School as valedictorian, earned the top sportsman award, and she was the captain of the basketball team that won top honors when basketball was played outside on a dirt court. She was the president of her class and president of the Beta Club. She played the piano at the United Methodist Church in Givhans as a teenager. She graduated from Rice Business College in Charleston, S.C. After graduation, she met her husband,  Keith Raymond “Ray” Hershey, while he was serving in the U.S. Navy in Charleston. As Ray Hershey was in the Navy, they they moved to New York City as his next station, where Connie worked for a licorice company. When Ray’s service time was up during the Korean War, they moved to California, where his family was, and where the Hershey Plumbing Company was established, servicing the bay area of San Francisco, and Connie did the bookkeeping. They had one daughter, Pamela Mae Hershey, married to William Anno III, whom reside in Fernandina Beach, and one son, Patrick Raymond Hershey, married to Julianna, who live in Givhans, S.C. While living in California, the family lived many places, including San Jose, Laganitus, Forest Knolls, Cupertino, Petaluma, Redding and Millville, before moving back to Givhans, where Connie’s extended family lived. They did not like big cities and, as towns grew bigger, they moved to smaller ones. Connie not only worked in the family business but also enjoyed working with Girl Scouts and started Troop 75 in Petaluma, Calif., that grew over 75 Scouts. She also served on the Girl Scout Council and directed summer camps and day camps for Scouts. She also worked as a nurse in a rest home in California for a few years, and then went back to being a bookkeeper for the State of California Workman’s Compensation Office. Connie and Ray also had a passion to help others and worked as a Temporary Foster Home for children waiting for placement into permanent foster homes. The first year, over 150 children came and went through their home with up to 11 children in the house at one time. They both were very active in the Baptist church and helped with Sunday school. As a deacon’s wife, Connie also participated in the choir and taught classes. Connie’s passion was working with the elderly. When Connie and Ray moved back to Givhans, Connie worked as a sitter for the elderly so they could continue living in their own homes. She loved spending time with her family and loved her two grandchildren, Christopher Raymond Hershey Collins of Fernandina Beach and Hannah Rae Hershey of Goose Greek, S.C., very much. Connie’s passions were helping others. If you called and needed anything, she answered. She loved her children and grandchildren but loved the Lord even more.
Connie was laid to rest with her husband of 42 years in Summerville, S.C., on Sept. 12, 2023, and near her parents and extended family. Pall bearers were Norman Murdaugh, Wayne Murdaugh, William Anno, Christopher Collins, David Crider and Troy Tolle.

Published by News Leader from Sep. 27 to Oct. 11, 2023.

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News

By Marjorie Hernandez and Matthew Sedacca

Published
July 15, 2023

Updated
July 15, 2023, 2:25 p.m. ET

Authorities in California have ceded prime real estate on the Venice Beach boardwalk to a rotating cast of vagrants — a microcosm of the insanity plaguing the Golden State amid its spiraling homeless crisis.

For weeks, a vagrant surrounded himself beneath a pagoda along with boardwalk with a dump of grimy grocery carts, tarps and blankets, galling footage posted online showed. He and a friend reportedly rejected aid from police, city workers and LA County Park Rangers — who threw up their hands and let the beachfront takeover persist.

As online outrage grew, Los Angeles cops finally cleared the beach bum this week, only to have a different hobo immediately take over the spot — and all but shut-out taxpaying residents or tourists from enjoying it.

“It’s like they are babysitting [the homeless population],” Reza Karimi, 60, owner of the sunglasses store Good See Co., and whose prime location on the boardwalk is just steps away from the hobo-filled pagodas, told The Post.

“Here I pay taxes, I work every day, but these people are given money for free and yet they still do whatever they want and ruin the city.”

Scott Beers, who took over the primo real estate with his girlfriend, promised to keep it cleaner than the previous “tenant.”

Scott Beers and his girlfriend took over the pagoda after authorities cleared a vagrant who had previously trashed the space.Ringo Chiu

“He had tents up and trashed this whole area up. You can’t have that here,” said Beers, 57.

“I’ve had homes before so I get it,” said Beers, who keeps his belongings neatly stacked on an airport luggage cart. “These people pay millions of dollars to live by the beach and they don’t want to see that s–t all over the place.” 

Beers, who claims to have abandoned a 28-acre cattle ranch and dairy farm in Nevada for life on the streets following his wife’s death, sang the praises of the free services available in the beachside community.

“Venice is my favorite because you can get hot showers every day. You can go out to the food bank three days a week. There is a church nearby that gives you a hot meal. And you can’t beat the views!” he said, noting that he gets by with panhandling and $221 a month from “general relief” funds from the Welfare Office. 

The persistence of homeless encampments in Venice Beach and along the boardwalk has outraged locals and business owners.Ringo Chiu

Bums sang the praises of the free services available in the beachside community. Ringo Chiu

Locals ripped the game of beach bum whack-a-mole.

“People [who have been previously removed] have come back and sleep out on the beach and the boardwalk,” said Jessica, whose family has run a business on the boardwalk for decades. 

“The tourists do get scared. They see people screaming or acting out near the shop and they turn around and don’t want to come back.”

California has 171,000 homeless people, representing 30% of the nation’s entire homeless population, according to a June report by the University of California, San Francisco. 

171,000 people are homeless across California.Ringo Chiu

At the height of the pandemic, the city conducted a massive sweep in 2021, busting up by some counts nearly 200 tents on the boardwalk. 

The city’s new mayor, Karen Bass, has also cracked down on encampments as part of her “Inside Safe” initiative launched earlier this year, which aims to connect homeless people with shelters and housing.  

“What we see on our streets cannot continue to be normalized,” said Councilwoman Traci Park, who represents Venice Beach. “I will continue to address the homelessness crisis with dignity and compassion, and fight for the safety and wellbeing of everyone.”

LAPD and the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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A busy night in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood proved too much for Cruise cars on Friday.

Several social media videos showed nearly a dozen robotaxis stopping in the middle of the street or trying to maneuver out of tight spots around Vallejo Street, Grant Avenue, and Columbus Avenue.

Cruise told NBC Bay Area on Saturday that it was suffering from wireless connectivity issues, which caused delays to cars. It added it’s working to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

This traffic jam coincided with San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music Festival which is going on about four miles away at Golden Gate Park.

On the social media platform X on Saturday, Cruise said that a “large festival posed wireless bandwidth constraints causing delayed connectivity to our vehicles.”

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Hi @friscolive415 – A large festival posed wireless bandwidth constraints causing delayed connectivity to our vehicles. We are actively investigating and working on solutions to prevent this from happening again. We apologize to those who were impacted.

— cruise (@Cruise) August 12, 2023

New York resident Valerie Jacobson, who was visiting San Francisco on Friday, says it was a confusing mess.

“As we were walking back to our hotel, there was this huge jam up of about ten cars and I looked and there were no drivers in them,” Jacobson recalled.

“One of them was like pretty much stuck up against one of the sidewalk sheds and trying to maneuver out of it but couldn’t,” she said. “There was also a huge lineup ahead of it. One of them was stopped at the top of the hill for no apparent reason. This had created a huge backlog.”

Witnesses of this incident told NBC Bay Area they noticed the traffic snarl just before 11 p.m. on Friday.

One witness provided this photo to NBC Bay Area of several Cruise robotaxis stalled on Vallejo Street in San Francisco’s North Beach just before 11 p.m. on Friday August 11.

“Other than being an inconvenience, it’s dangerous,” said San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who said he immediately received complaints from his constituents about the robotaxi jam.

The incident happened the day after the California Public Utilities Commission ruled in a 3-1 vote to allow Cruise and Waymo to expand robotaxi operations in San Francisco and part of San Mateo County 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Cruise is owned by General Motors and Waymo is owned by Alphabet.

“There was just a total meltdown,” said Peskin of the incident Friday, “which shows that San Francisco’s government that petitioned for an incremental approach –that we’re right.”

“These things are not ready for prime time,” Peskin said of the autonomous vehicles.

He also said the notion that wireless issues caused this backup “is scary as heck if you think about the fact that moving these vehicles out of traffic requires cell service.”

Peskin worries about what would happen if a natural disaster, for example, knocked out cell service. He referred to autonomous vehicles as “amazing devices,” but is among the local leaders arguing that “they should not be expanded until the technology has been worked out.” 

Peskin noted that local leaders are pushing at the state and federal levels, calling for more oversight of driverless cars.

In the meantime, he has an ask directly for California’s governor.

“At the end of the day, the five members of California’s Public Utilities Commission are appointed directly by the Governor of the State of California, and I think Gavin Newsom needs to do something about this before somebody gets killed,” Peskin said.

A busy night in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood proved too much for Cruise cars on Friday.

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After 70 years in San Francisco and a change of ownership that resulted in an imaginative menu update attracting several TV shows to its doors, HRD Coffee Shop has closed.

The San Francisco Standard first reported the news, and owner Sydney Saidyan confirmed the restaurant would be closed on Friday, June 23. He says the pandemic has exacerbated problems with the landlord; Because of some of these issues, the restaurant was unable to add outdoor dining, adding to HRD’s losses. “I’ve lost confidence in my partners, in other words the city and the landlord, to really see us as their valued partner,” says Saidyan. “We realized that when we’ve done everything we can, we basically can’t go on, and we couldn’t really get to the point of saying we can go on for another year or two.”

As the Standard reports, HRD Coffee Shop was founded by Ben Chan, an immigrant from China who wanted to open a breakfast spot in the China Basin. He opened HRD in 1953 — rumored to be named for the “HRD” on the front of the human resources office where the restaurant began — and eventually passed the business on to his nephew David Yeung and partner Joanna Banks in 2009. They brought Saidyan into the restaurant business, enriched the menu with his unique brand of kimchi and bulgogi burritos that fused Asian ingredients with Mexican food, and led to appearances at Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Saidyan says Yeung left the company three years ago and has been the sole owner ever since.

As for the HRD Coffee Shop story, Saidyan doesn’t think that’s the real ending. Citing various catering appearances at the Giants and local businesses, as well as the numerous reviews on Yelp and Google praising their restaurant, he says HRD will carry on — whether he’s at the helm or someone running the business and its various activities takes over trademarks and patents. He would prefer the San Francisco restaurant to continue, but indicated to the Standard that he would be willing to move the restaurant elsewhere. “After 70 years, our story is a story of perseverance and of an immigrant who came to this country,” Saidyan says. “I have never seen myself as the owner, but as the steward of this man’s legacy. We did everything we could, but unfortunately it takes two to tango.”

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