TORRANCE TRIBUNE December 14, 2017 Page 3
Self-Serve Postage Company
Makes Changes After Complaints
By Rob McCarthy
Dan Frazier makes a living off current
affairs, selling political bumper stickers and
T-shirts from a small online store that runs
24 hours a day and on weekends. Being affiliated
with Amazon, his company has tight
shipping deadlines to meet, and Mondays
are crucial to fulfilling customer orders and
having them out that day.
Frazier says that he almost missed the
promised ship date after some weekend sales
because the postage company he uses to
print stamps was offline for hours on a busy
Monday recently. Stamps.com, based in El
Segundo, experienced a prolonged website
outage that lasted much longer than expected.
Retailers and the small businesses that use
the self-printing postage company logged
complaints on social media and expressed
their frustration that the company told them
the service would be restored in 30 minutes.
“This service was down for four or five
hours today, maybe more,” Frazier wrote in
DEADLINES
OBITUARIES: Monday at noon.
CALENDAR ITEMS: Monday at noon.
PEOPLE ITEMS: Monday at noon.
CLASSIFIEDS: Tuesday at noon.
LEGAL NOTICES: Wednesday at 11:00 am.
REAL ESTATE ADS: Monday at noon.
AD CANCELLATIONS: Prior Thursday.
LATE CANCELLATIONS WILL BE
CHARGED 50% OF AD
Calendar of Events
Deadline for Calendar items is the prior
Thursday by noon. Calendar items are
$1 per word. Email listings to marketing@
heraldpublications.com. We take Visa and
MasterCard.
THURSDAY, DEC. 14
• Mayhem in the A.M. Mystery Book Group,
10:00 AM., free, Henderson Library, 4805
Emerald Street, Call: 310-371-2075.
• Mistletoe & Merriment (Dance Center),
7:00 PM. – 9:00 PM., Tickets: $20, James
Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center
Drive, Call: 310-781-7171.
FRIDAY, DEC. 15
• Holiday Lights Concert (Torrance Civic
Chorale), 8:00 PM. – 10:30 PM., Tickets:
$25, James Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic
Center Drive, Call: 310-781-7171.
• YMCA Pictures with Santa, 4:00 PM.
– 6:30 PM., free, Torrance-South Bay
YMCA, 2900 W. Sepulveda Blvd., Torrance,
CA 90505.
SATURDAY, DEC. 16
• Torrance Certified Farmers’ Market at
Wilson Park, 8:00 AM. – 1:00 PM., 2200
Crenshaw Blvd., Between Carson St. &
Sepulveda, Call: 310-781-7520.
• The Ultimate Christmas Show (Abridged),
8:00 PM. – 10:30 PM., Tickets: $30, Torrance
Theatre Company, 1316 Cabrillo
Ave, Call: 424-243-6882.
• Town Hall Meeting with Maxine Waters,
1:00 PM. – 3:00 PM., Los Angeles Harbor
College Gymnasium, 1111 Figueroa Place,
RSVP required, Call: 323-757-8900.
• Holiday Lights Concert (Torrance Civic
Chorale), 8:00 PM. – 10:30 PM., Tickets:
$25, James Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic
Center Drive, Call: 310-781-7171.
• Cecile & Mighty MAGIC Wonderland,
6:00 PM. – 11:00 PM., Tickets: $55, Ken
Miller Auditorium, 3341 Torrance Blvd.,
For more info: www.cecilemighty.com.
• Breakfast & Visit with Santa, 9:00 AM.
– 12:00 PM., Tickets: $20, Toyota Meeting
Hall, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Call:
310-618-2720.
SUNDAY, DEC. 17
• The Ultimate Christmas Show (Abridged),
2:00 PM., Tickets: $30, Torrance Theatre
Company, 1316 Cabrillo Ave, Call: 424-
243-6882.
• Holiday Concert – A Latin Holiday, 7:00
PM. – 9:30 PM., Tickets: $25, James Armstrong
Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive,
Call: 310-781-7171.
TUESDAY, DEC. 19
• Torrance Certified Farmers’ Market at
Wilson Park, 8:00 AM. – 1:00 PM., 2200
Crenshaw Blvd., Between Carson St. &
Sepulveda, Call: 310-781-7520.
• City Council Meeting, 8:00 PM. – 10:00
PM., City Hall, Council Chambers, 3031
Torrance Blvd., Call: 310-618-2780.
• South High School Winter Concert, 7:00
PM. – 9:30 PM., Tickets: $12, James Armstrong
Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive,
Call: 310-533-4352 X 7541.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20
• Craft Delight, 12:00 PM. – 2:00 PM., free,
Henderson Library, 4805 Emerald Street,
Call: 310-371-2075.
• Wa y b a c k We d n e s d a y : “ Vi n c e n t
Minelli’s Meet Me in St. Louis, 10:30
AM., free, no registration required, Katy
Geissert Civic Center Library, 33010
Torrance Blvd.
THURSDAY, DEC. 21
• All Torrance Libraries CLOSED for
Christmas •
Community Briefs
Torrance Transit and Del Amo Fashion
Center Partner to “Stuff a Bus”
In the spirit of the holidays and a desire
to help those less fortunate, the City of Torrance
Transit Department is calling upon the
community to participate in the “Stuff A
Bus” drive on Thursday, December 21 at the
Del Amo Fashion Center. Torrance Transit
is teaming up with Del Amo to host this
event. The Torrance Police Department and
Fire Department will be on hand and community
organizations such as the Torrance
Woman’s Club and the Red Cross will also
be there to assist.
Between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on December
21, you can bring an unwrapped gift, toy
or other charitable donation to the Del Amo
Fashion Center at either the Lazy Dog Café
or Hometown Buffet. A Torrance Transit bus
and other City vehicles will be parked at the
collection stations for easy identification. The
City’s goal is to literally stuff these buses full
of toys and gifts for donation to the Torrance
Family Crisis Center and the Department
of Children and Family Services, Torrance
Regional Office.
Also, to assist those impacted by the recent
hurricanes in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico,
all gift cards collected during this drive will
be donated to Red Cross for distribution to
families and individuals in those areas. For
additional information, contact Torrance
Transit at (310) 781-6266 or visit www.
Transit.TorranceCA.Gov.
Text Messaging to 9-1-1 Now Available
Mobile users in LA County now can send
text messages to 9-1-1, giving hearing- and
speech-impaired residents, or those in
situations where it is too dangerous to dial
9-1-1, a potentially lifesaving option. “Call
if you can--text if you can’t” is the slogan
developed by the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) as the new technology
makes its debut in the most populous county
in the United States.
Most Los Angeles County dispatch centers
are now equipped to receive and respond to
mobile phone SMS Text to 9-1-1 messages.
This service is available for use by the deaf,
hard of hearing, or speech impaired, and in
situations where it is too dangerous to make
a voice call to 9-1-1.
• If you can, always contact 9-1-1 by
making a voice call, “Call if you can--text
if you can’t.”
• If you are deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech
disabled, and Text to 9-1-1 is not available,
use a TTY or telecommunications relay
service, if available.
• If you text 9-1-1 and text is not available
in your area, you will receive a bounce back
message advising “text is not available please
make a voice call to 9-1-1.”
• Location accuracy varies by carrier and
should not be relied upon. Be prepared to
give your location.
• Text to 9-1-1 services will not be available
if the wireless carrier cannot ascertain a
location of the device sending the message.
• Text to 9-1-1 is not available if you are
roaming.
• A text or data plan is required to place
a text to 9-1-1.
• Photos and videos cannot be sent to
9-1-1. They cannot be received at the 9-1-1
center at this time.
• Text messages should be sent in plain
language and not contain popular abbreviations
(SMH, LOL, ICYMI) or emojis, which
will not be recognized.
• Text to 9-1-1 cannot be sent to more than
one person. Do not send your emergency text
to anyone other than 9-1-1.
• Texts must be in English only. There
currently is no language interpretation for
text available. This is still in development.
– Source: Cal OES •
Torrance PD
Holiday DUI Checkpoints
This holiday season, The Torrance Department
will work around the clock to keep
drivers and passengers safe as they search
for impaired drivers. From December 15
through January 1, law enforcement is partnering
with the California Office of Traffic
Safety (OTS) and National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) in a special
year-end Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over
enforcement mobilization to get impaired
drivers off the street and to spread the word
about this dangerous crime.
As part of the enforcement campaign period,
police, sheriff and the CHP will be deploying
DUI Checkpoints and DUI Saturation Patrols
during the 18-day DUI regional crackdown.
Torrance Police DD is conducting DUI
Saturation Patrols on December 15, 29, and
30, and a DUI Checkpoint on December 21.
“This holiday season, drivers will notice
increased enforcement watching closely for
anyone who is driving impaired,” said Chief
Michael Browne of the Torrance Police
Department. “It is vital that we keep our
roads and our travelers safe--not just at the
holidays, but every day. With extra travelers
on the roads and people attending holiday
parties, we will likely see an uptick in drunk
driving. We’ll be arresting anyone we catch
breaking this life-saving law.”
In recent years, California has seen a
disturbing increase in drug-impaired Drivers
are encouraged to download the Designated
Driver VIP, or “DDVIP,” free mobile app for
Android or iPhone. The DDVIP app helps find
nearby bars and restaurants that feature free
incentives for designated sober drivers, from
free non-alcoholic drinks to free appetizers
an email. “This is not the first time this has
happened, though it is the longest outage
that I am aware of.”
Amazon sellers have a two-day deadline
to mail certain consumer products, according
to a company spokeswoman contacted for
this story. She referred to a seller agreement
posted online that reads, “Sellers are expected
to ship all orders as specified on the offer;
however, Amazon requires sellers to ship all
Books, Music, Video, and DVD … products
within two business days of receiving the
order from Amazon.”
Merchants who fail to meet Amazon’s
shipping requirement can be suspended from
the world’s largest online retail site, and have
their accounts frozen. Frazier had it happen
to him once when an employee suddenly
quit on him.
Cyber Monday--the Super Bowl of ecommerce
and more. The app even has social media
tie-ins and a tab to call Uber, Lyft or Curb.
– Source: Torrance PD
Torrance Detectives
Apprehend Package Thief
On Thursday, December 7, undercover
Torrance Police Detectives resumed covert
surveillance on a subject suspected of stealing
packages from doorsteps. Commonly referred to
as “Porch Pirates,” investigators began working
on a tip provided by a person victimized late
October of this year. The victim, who lost a
package from their own doorstep, provided
officers with a possible vehicle to follow.
During Thursday afternoon, investigators
observed Justin Dabu casing residential areas
in his vehicle. During that time, he walked
up to a residence located in the 3400 block
of 227th Street and ultimately stole a package.
Investigators arrested him and conducted
a probation search of his residence where
additional stolen property was recovered.
Numerous cases were solved at the conclusion
of the investigation, to include the one
that initially led investigators to the arrest.
The Torrance Police Department is grateful
for another opportunity to collaborate with
the community resulting in the apprehension
of those involved in criminal activity.
The Department continues to encourage its
residents to report all suspicious activity:
“See Something Say Something.”
This investigation was conducted under
the command and direction of Torrance
Police Captain Martin Vukotic of the Special
Operations Bureau. Anyone with information
regarding this case is encouraged to
contact the Torrance Police Department at
(310) 328-3456.
– Source: Torrance PD •
Police Briefs
had Frazier and other Stamps.
com customers singing a happy holiday tune.
See Self-Serve Postage, page 8