The Weekly Newspaper of Torrance Herald Publications - Torrance, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 5, No. 19 - May 7, 2015 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................10 Classifieds............................4 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Film Review..........................3 Food.......................................7 Legals....................................9 Police Reports.....................3 Real Estate.........................12 Sports.................................6,8 TerriAnn in Torrance..........5 Weekend Forecast Orchestra Debut Showcases Young Artistic Talent The Young Artists Orchestra made their concert debut on April 23rd at the James Armstrong Theatre in Torrance. An ensemble of 40 highly talented high school musicians from Torrance and the South Bay comprise the orchestra who are trained and mentored by LA’s top professional musicians and are under the direction of Artistic Director and Conductor Daniel Suk. The concert included a performance by special guest 16-year old soprano Golda Berkman, winner of the Music Center’s 2015 Spotlight Award in Classical Voice and the Dream Youth Choir. More info can be found at www.yaola.org. Photo courtesy of Young Artists Orchestra. Friday Showers 63˚/56˚ Saturday Partly Cloudy 64˚/55˚ Sunday Sunny 69˚/57˚ City Celebrates Culmination of Students and Government Day By Cristian Vasquez In front of a full council chamber, the Torrance New Location For Gym at Jefferson Middle School By Cristian Vasquez During Monday night’s meeting School Board meeting, board members reconsidered, discussed and agreed on a different location for the new gymnasium to be built at Jefferson Middle School. The Board voted 4-1 to change the location of the structure from the previously selected area, which was referred to as Option A, to Option B in part to appease local neighbors who were concerned about issues such as neighborhood safety and the aesthetics of the new building. “With the gymnasium, I fear and we fear, that our entire lifestyle will be impacted and the safety issues are paramount to me,” Larry Jones, local resident and neighbor to Jefferson Middle School, said. “We have a very tight-knit and very supportive neighborhood where we actually care about each other; it is very quiet and very peaceful. Two times a day, right now, in the morning and in the afternoon when the children are dropped off and they are picked up, the neighborhood changes dramatically.” In addition to the changing the location of the new gym from the north side of campus [closer to the Carmen Street homes], to the southern end of campus, closer to Carson Street, the approved Option B site will require the addition of 10,000-square-feet of black asphalt in order to accommodate the two volleyball courts and two ball walls that will be eliminated through the addition of the gym. See School Board, page 10 City Council and Executive City Officials stepped down from the dais and gave way to this year’s participants of the city’s Students and Government Day. “Today we will continue the tradition set forth by my predecessor Mayor Frank Scotto,” Torrance Mayor Pat Furey said as he addressed the chamber. “In Torrance we have the belief that continuing to improve the life of our community entails the involvement of everyone. Regardless of the age, anyone can contribute to the betterment of our city and I truly hope that we all do.” The council and executive staff gave way to the group of students to step in and conduct government affairs such as community announcements, and conducting two proclamations: one declaring May 9 Fire Service Day with Fire Chief William Racowschi and the other proclamation declaring the week of May 11-15 as Bike Commute Week. The students who stepped in to fulfill the duties of the city council for a part of the evening were: Councilman Sarang Bhatnagar from Bert Lynn, Public Works Director Preston Cao from Macgruder, Mayor Esther Cash from Macgruder, Community Services Director Isabelle Causley from Jefferson, City Treasurer Anjelika Esteban from Saint Catherine Laboure, Transit Director Jaycee Garrido from J.H. Hall, City Attorney Max Hampel from Riviera Hall, Community Developemnt Director Ramzy Issa from Macgruder, City Manager Wyatt Javate from Madrona, Finance Director Josh Lim from J.H. Hall, Assistant City Manager Sammie Kuo from Calle Mayor, Councilman Tyler Lee from Jefferson, Councilwoman Katie Miyamoto from Saint James, Councilman Josh Nicola Casimir, General Services Director Kaitlyn O’Brien from Richardson, City Clerk Prisha Sadhwani Calle Mayor, Councilwoman Emily Stevanus Calle Mayor, Police Chief Ashley Tandoc from Nativity, Councilman Troy Wakimoto from Richardson, and Fire Chief Nicole Wood from First Lutheran. “As I was coming in tonight I was thinking how quickly nine years go by. Former Mayor Scotto had a vision and came in to talk to me about it and I said why not? Let’s pull it off,” Torrance Unified School District Superintendent Dr. George Mannon said. “We have great students as we displayed tonight. It is a unique program and I don’t know of another city that has a program quite like this one. I hope all of you had a really great time today; I know you are going to be leaders in the future but I also want you to think back and reflect that you have had an experience that most students will never have.” See City Council, page 10
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