Top 10 Stories: Sardines, Skateboards

It's been a crazy year. From fish die-offs to reality television episodes to freeway news (and everything in between), Redondo Beach Patch writers were always busy. Here are the Nos. 9 and 10 most popular stories of the year, chosen by popularity and editorial discretion.

Ben Burton's Brain Injury (No. 10)

's column on a Redondo Beach boy whose fall from a skateboard left him with a traumatic brain injury struck a chord with readers. With more than 100 Facebook recommendations, the story drew well wishes for Ben from complete strangers. At the time the story was posted, Ben was five months into his recovery and doing well.

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Sardines Clog King Harbor (No. 9)

In March, boaters discovered millions of sardines dead in King Harbor. As it turns out, the sardines had essentially drowned—for some reason, they stayed in the harbor and ran out of oxygen.

It took days to remove the fish—the tsunami hampered cleanup efforts—and multiple tons of sardines were delivered to Athens Services and eventually turned into compost.

As it turns out, domoic acid was found in the fish. Though fish are thought to be immune to the neurotoxin, it causes disorientation and death in mammals.

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