The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 110, No. 7 - February 18, 2021
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................11
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................3
Food.....................................11
Legals..............................8-10
Obituaries.............................2
Pets......................................12
Police Reports.....................2
Real Estate.......................5-7
Weekend
Forecast
Local El Segundo Resident Has
a Real Connection to Mayberry
Jim Fenton and his family at Dockweiler State Beach. This is part of our “Love Thy Neighbor” series. Send your nominees to letters@heraldpublications.com. Please get the nominee’s permission to be
interviewed, before submitting to us. See Jim’s story on page 3.
Andy Beem’s Love for
Hang Gliding is Infectious
By Kiersten Vannest
In 1982, Andy Beem ran to the edge
of a ledge and started to fly. Though
he’d never done it before, the feeling
was familiar, instinctive. He’d learned
how to do this already, in his dreams.
No engine, no propellors, just the sound
of the wind blowing through his hair and
over his wings. This was Andy’s first time
hang gliding.
In the mid-1940s, a man named Francis
Rogallo wondered what it would be like
to drive out to the edge of town, unfurl
a wing, and fly over the countryside. He
began developing some prototypes that
would make aviation more accessible and
commercially viable. In 1948, made from
recycled kitchen curtains sewn by his wife,
Gertrude, they had created a successful
flexible wing and were awarded a patent
in 1951 under the name “Flexible Kite.”
Dismissed as a hobbyist activity and child’s
play by major aviation engineers, Rogallo
worked on his design on his own time.
Fast forward about a decade, and
America was deep in the throes of a space
race with Russia. Interest in space travel
was increasingly growing, and both countries
vied for the title of first in space and
first on the moon. Enter Francis Rogallo.
Rogallo had figured out that by using
See Andy Beem, page 6
Friday
Sunny
67˚/50˚
Saturday
Sunny
67˚/51˚
Sunday
Sunny
71˚/52˚
City Council Reluctantly Raises
Customer’s Water-Utility Rates
By Rob McCarthy
Property owners can expect higher waterutility
bills starting in April after the City
Council concluded Tuesday there was no
way to dodge a huge increase from the city
of Los Angeles for handling El Segundo’s
wastewater. Hyperion charges nearly doubled
over the past three years as the plant made
upgrades and the flow from the residential
and business customers changed, officials said.
Faced with data showing a recent 91 percent
jump in charges to El Segundo, council
members reluctantly agreed to pass along
the increase. Property owners will pay nine
percent more annually in 2021 and 2022 for
wastewater treatment and another 9.5 percent
per year through 2025. At Tuesday’s public
hearing, officials stressed that El Segundo
customers hadn’t experienced a water-utility
rate increase in five years. Councilwoman
Carol Pirsztuk said the timing of the rate
increase was unfortunate, adding that property
owners can’t raise rents by more than five
percent under the law.
El Segundo utility customers will pay three
percent more each year for West Basin water,
too, starting in January 2022, the council
decided. The Water Department is passing
along the modest increase because West
Basin Metropolitan Water District upped
its wholesale price to El Segundo’s Water
Department. The water agency is the source
of all of El Segundo’s water.
West Basin board member Scott Houston
opposed the rate hike, citing the battered
economy and loss of employment due to
the COVID-19 epidemic. In a split decision,
the West Basin board voted 3-2 last summer
to pass through higher costs for state water
to its customers - 2.4 percent next year and
3.5 percent in 2023. State law allows El
Segundo to charge for the actual cost of
providing water services, including salaries,
operations and maintenance, and any capital
improvements.
Mayor Drew Boyles stressed before the
council voted on the five-year pricing cycle
See City Council, page 10