Page 8 January 27, 2022 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Kirk Brown from front page
Stella Cordova from front page
Police Reports from page 3
Tuesday, Jan 18th
One male adult was arrested and released with
a citation at 0736 hours from the 500 block of
North Pacific Coast Highway for trespassing.
One male adult was detained at 0818 hours
from the 700 block of East Grand Avenue and
transported to MLK Medical Center for a
72-hour psychiatric evaluation.
One female adult was arrested at 1127 hours
from the 500 block of North Pacific Coast
Highway for trespassing.
A vandalism report was taken at 1130 hours
from the 200 block of Nevada Street. The
victim reported damage to her vehicle at a
local auto repair shop.
A fraud report was taken at 1147 hours from
the 200 block of Standard Street.
A stolen vehicle report was taken at 1242
hours from the 500 block of Richmond Street.
Taken was a 2006 Ford van.
One female adult was arrested and released
with a citation at 1755 hours from the 700 block
of South Pacific Coast Highway for petty theft.
A grand theft report was taken at 1748 hours
from the 1900 block of East Maple Avenue. A
known suspect left the location for a test ride
with an electric bicycle and did not return to
the location.
An online court order violation report was
taken at 1823 hours that occurred at the 400
block of Whiting Street.
An online court order violation report was
taken at 1829 hours that occurred at the 800
block of Main Street.
A grand theft report was taken 1918 hours
from the 900 block of Cedar Street. Unknown
suspect(s) stole the victim’s vehicle catalytic
converter.
A stolen vehicle report was taken at 2045
hours from the 400 block of West Walnut Street.
Stolen was a 2013 Toyota Prius.
Wednesday, Jan 19th
An identity theft report was taken at 1002
hours from the 1700 block of East Pine Avenue.
The victim had unknown fraud activity
resulting in a loss of $900.
An injury report was taken at 1254 hours
from Grand Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway.
The subject fell while crossing the street.
An identity theft report was taken at 1618
hours from the ESPD lobby. Unknown suspect(s)
used the victim’s personal information to
fraudulently withdraw money from an ATM.
An online lost property report was taken
at 0123 hours from the 2100 block of East
El Segundo Boulevard. The victim lost a bag
with several medical prescriptions and $1,320.
Thursday, Jan 20th
One male adult was arrested at 0617 hours
from Pine Avenue and Sheldon Street for driving
a stolen vehicle.
A stolen vehicle was recovered at 1123
hours in the 100 block of Whiting Street.
Recovered was a 2006 Ford Econoline van
stolen out of ESPD.
A property report was taken at 1212 hours
from the 300 block of North Pacific Coast
Highway. A backpack was found and booked
for safekeeping.
An identity theft report was taken at 1419
hours from the 400 block of West Acacia Avenue.
Unknown suspect(s) made an unauthorized wire
transfer from the victim’s account.
An embezzlement report was taken at 1617
hours from the 1900 block of East Grand
Avenue. A known suspect refuses to return a
loaned laptop.
A traffic accident (with injuries) occurred at
1739 hours on Main Street and Pine Avenue,
vehicle versus a pedestrian.
One male adult was arrested at 2214 hours
from the 700 block of North Pacific Coast
Highway for arson. The suspect burned a
discarded Christmas tree.
Friday, Jan 21st
One male adult was arrested at 0918 hours
from the 1500 block of East Rosecrans Avenue
for robbery.
A found property report was taken at 1418
hours from the 700 block of Center Street.
An inert ammunition round was booked for
destruction.
One female adult was arrested at 1949 hours
from Franklin Avenue and Main Street for
drunk in public.
A battery report was taken at 2045 hours
from the 500 block of North Nash Street, male
juvenile versus male juvenile.
One male adult was arrested at 0343 hours
from Holly Avenue and Loma Vista Street
for misdemeanor DUI with a BAC of .08%
or above.
Saturday, Jan 22nd
A burglary (auto) report was taken at
0651 hours from the 700 block of South
Pacific Coast Highway. Unknown suspect(s)
broke into the victim’s vehicle and stole
his property.
A stolen vehicle report was taken at 0907
hours from the 900 block of McCarthy Court.
A 2015 Hyundai Sonata was taken.
A lost/stolen vehicle plate report was taken
at 1608 hours from the 700 block of West
Imperial Avenue.
One male adult was arrested at 2151 hours
from the 100 block of North Pacific Coast Highway
for possession of a controlled substance.
One male adult was arrested at 2314 hours
from the 400 block of East Imperial Avenue
for possession of a controlled substance.
One female adult was arrested at 2314 hours
from the 400 block of East Imperial Avenue
for possession of a controlled substance and
possession of nitrous oxide.
A brandishing a firearm report was taken
at 0352 hours from the 1800 block of East
Sycamore Avenue. The suspect pointed a gun
at the victim.
Sunday, Jan 30th
A missing person report was taken at 1548
hours from the 1400 block of East Imperial
Avenue. A female adult was reported missing
and returned home later that day.
One male adult was arrested at 1753 hours
from the 200 block of Sierra Street for drunk
in public.
A recovered vehicle report was taken at 2146
hours from the 900 block of Hornet Way. A
2006 Ford F-450 truck was recovered.
One male adult was arrested at 0125 hours
from the 600 block of North Pacific Coast
Highway for trespassing.
One male adult was arrested at 0152 hours
from the 2100 block of East Mariposa Avenue
for drunk in public.
One male adult was arrested at 0315 hours
from the 900 block of Center Street for one
out of state felony warrant. •
really fortunate that I have two great kids,”
Brown said, noting that his son collaborates
with him in the Kirk Brown Real Estate office
on Main Street.
Brown’s granddaughter has followed in
Kirk’s footsteps, attending the same CSS
kindergarten class that he had started his
schooling in decades ago. Months after his
promotion ceremonies from CSS, Brown attended
what was junior high school, for 7th
and 8th grade students, which was located
on West Palm and Sheldon streets.
Next up was his four- year stint at ESHS. He
said that in his junior and senior year, he was
taught by a couple of veteran educators who
had schooled Brown’s mother, a 1935 graduate.
Brown took advantage of sports opportunities
while he was cracking the books at
ESHS. He played basketball and baseball,
notching all-league and all-area accolades in
both sports. “I hate talking about myself,” he
said, when mentioning his athletic prowess.
“I don’t want to be a braggart,” he added.
Prodded by this scribe to keep talking about
himself, Brown revealed that he initially attended
college in Western Washington on a
basketball scholarship. When he was a junior
at ESHS, the varsity basketball squad captured
the league championship for the first time in
a long time. But the team was not satisfied
with just attaining a league title; the varsity
hoopsters captured a CIF title the following
year, in 1963, the only CIF boys’ basketball
championship that the school has captured.
Brown relishes the memories of his high
school days, touting the “great teachers and
coaches” who helped mold him. He had
followed his basketball coach during his
junior year, who landed a coaching job in
Bellingham, Washington, and was looking
to further his scholar-athlete aspirations. But
the Washington experience was somewhat of
a dud. “It rained every day,” Brown said of
his brief experience in the Evergreen State.
Brown had stayed connected with reps from
Pepperdine University and decided to transfer.
But not to the stunning campus that is perched
in the hills near Malibu; at that time, the Pepperdine
campus was in South Los Angeles.
After graduating from Pepperdine, Brown
was offered a teaching position at the school,
but turned it down. “I really wanted to coach
high school basketball,” Brown said, so he
instead took a teaching position at Alhambra
High School, where he taught for seven years,
becoming the department head of the physical
education department. But teaching soon lost its
charm for Brown. “I was bored silly,” he said.
Because Brown had tenure at Alhambra
High, he was able to take a one- year sabbatical.
He used that time-off to reconnect
with Cliff Warren, who had coached Brown
during his senior year in high school. Brown
had secured a real estate license, and Warren,
who had done “extremely well in real estate,”
wanted to chat with his former player.
Warren offered Brown a job in the real
estate field. Brown remembers thinking that
he had to “work really hard in real estate”
to succeed because he was not too keen on
returning to the classroom.
He bought his first property while he was
teaching, and later became curious of the
property’s worth. When his realtor related
the property’s value, Brown thought “Gosh,
I am making more from that property than
I am teaching. I made $8,338 my first year
of teaching.” Adios, to classroom teaching.
While performing his real estate duties,
Brown also was still enthusiastic about basketball,
and became the varsity hoops coach
at ESHS. But, with his children growing up,
Brown said he realized that “I was spending
a lot of time with other people’s kids, I
better spend time with mine,” so he gave up
the coaching gig.
Brown has no intention of leaving our
town. “I think El Segundo is like a small
Midwestern town that they flew over and
dropped here,” conveniently settling in the
cozy acreage bordered by the Pacific Ocean,
the Chevron campus, and LAX. He said that
one of the elements that makes El Segundo
desirable is that “it can’t grow geographically
larger” noting the entrenched entities that ring
El Segundo.
Brown acquaintances Charley Atchison and
Carol Well vouched for the bona fides of their
longtime friend. Atchison has known Brown
for more than 70 years. He touted Brown’s
youthful athletic skills, adding with a chuckle
that he had numerous stories involving Brown,
several “not for publication. We had a lot of
fun. He was a prankster.”
For her part, Well who grew up in the same
period as Brown and still lives in El Segundo,
said, “he loves this city; he is very proud of
having the family history that he does.”
Brown calls himself a sports addict, with
the Dodgers his favorite team. He can harken
back to the days prior to the Dodgers moving
to Los Angeles, and the advent of the Angels,
as well as traversing to the LA Coliseum to
watch the Dodgers play as they were awaiting
the construction of Chavez Ravine.
Kirk Brown is an El Segundo lifer and wants
it to stay that way. •
Kirk Brown. Photo provided by Kirk Brown.
Though the job is called court reporter, this
career can take a professional anywhere in
the world. Near the beginning of her career,
Cordova took her skills to Australia, where she
met her husband. The courts there, she says,
were very different from American courts,
complete with wigs and very formal etiquette.
Court reporter jobs are so in demand that
they transcend the courtroom. Many court
reporters don’t report to a single court and
take jobs privately through attorneys and firms.
Others instead choose to use their skills to
transcribe seminars, classes, or sports. Live
captioning is done by trained court reporters
because, as Cordova says, no machine will ever
be able to transcribe with the nuance of a real
person. Large universities use court reporters
to transcribe lessons for students who are hard
of hearing or learn better by reading
Cordova herself works for the county, mostly
sticking to a single court location. From civil
suits and divorce to felonies and dramatic
elevator rides between sessions, she has seen
(or heard) it all. Working in criminal court
requires having a tough skin and an ability to
remove oneself from the case. She says work
outside the courtroom could be as eventful as
what was happening on the stand, with fights,
kids, and a wide array of visitors.
Despite the schooling and the tough cases,
Cordova also describes court reporting as one
of the best and most rewarding things in her
life. Along with the darker stories, she gets
tales of levity, and no day at work is ever the
same. Cordova says a court reporter can’t leave
a session without having learned something,
listening to experts present evidence, and
lawyers deep dive into laws all day.
Court reporting work is constantly in demand
and faces a significant shortage, as less and less
it is advertised. Even with technology continually
evolving, the need for accurate transcription
remains steady and pays well. A beginning
court reporter in California can expect to bring
in $99k and up in their first year of work.
Transcripts made outside the workday bring in
extra income above and beyond salaried work.
Court reporters working privately can make
as much or as little as desired, taking one of
many jobs available whenever time allows.
Cordova’s hope is that today’s burgeoning
adults learn about her line of work and keep an
open mind to pursuing a career like hers. She’s
spoken at high schools and job fairs, though she
says that most high schoolers are more interested
in being influencers and gamers than transcribing
court cases. In the future, she hopes to talk
to a younger audience who may have a more
open mind to outside opportunities, perhaps
speaking at middle schools around the area.
Though court reporting can mean a major
exercise in listening, learning, and speaking
up, it also promises a life of stable income,
variety, and a lifetime of stories. •