I can't help starting this new year off filled with gratitude. Sure, we here in Valmonte get to live in beautiful homes, in a beautiful neighborhood, with good jobs, and cute kids - all things to be grateful for every day. But what I'm talking about is the gratitude for the people that make up the neighborhood of Valmonte in Palos Verdes Estates.  The story started like this . . . As many in our...

I've been struggling with how to digest the recent events in Connecticut.  After our own little taste of violence with the police chase that ended in our neighborhood, I gave some serious thought to finally buying a firearm to protect my little slice of heaven.  Needless to say I was stopped in my tracks when I learned of the tragedy of the 26 innocent lives lost as the result of a lunatic with his...

If you gage the real estate market by walking around a neighborhood, you would certainly call Valmonte sleepy based on the general absence of for sale signs in the front yards.  This reality can be seen a few ways.  Maybe you can call it the Holiday calm; who wants to have people touring your home while you're trying to enjoy the special time that is the holiday season?  It could be that everyone loves...

Christmastime has arrived in Valmonte.  If you ventured out in between the rainstorms this weekend, you certainly saw the flurry of activity as lights were being hung from nearly every roof line, tree branch, and picket fence.  Of course if you passed by my house, you may have noticed we finally managed to hang a few pictures on the walls - no lights yet.  Regardless of my own decorating guilt, it's...

According to the PVE Police Department, on Thursday, November 8th, at approximately 9:15 PM, a water main broke under the dirt embankment in front of 2525 Palos Verdes Drive North. The flow of water caused a large amount of dirt / mud from the embankment to slide on to Palos Verdes Drive North, which obstructed the entire roadway. In addition, a nearby utility pole nearly fell because it was no longer...

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Palos Verdes approves new bike lane! Posted on October 15, 2012 by Bill Congratulations to the Rolling Hills City Council for final construction approval for a 1.3 mile, 2-way bike lanes. The project calls for widening the roadway to include bike lanes in both directions, construction of rolled curbs and gutters, sidewalks, raised medians and islands, intersection enhancements, improved crosswalks and...

Here's an article from the LA Times talking about a cool project going on at Valmonte Elementary school. A Palos Verdes Estates garden aims to help kids dig veggies Volunteers convert a hillside plot into the Valmonte Farm and Nature Garden, the latest project in nonprofit group's effort to teach youngsters about healthful food. September 16, 2012|By Martha Groves, Los Angeles Times Teacher Lauren...