The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 109, No. 12 - March 19, 2020
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................11
Classifieds............................9
Crossword/Sudoku.............9
Entertainment......................4
Legals.............................. 8,10
Obituaries.............................2
Pets......................................11
Police Reports.....................4
Real Estate........................5,6
Sports.............................. 7,12
Weekend
Forecast
ESHS Students Place at the 2020
Raytheon Engineering Games
A team of three ESHS students, Gabriela Crother-Collado, Christophe Charles, and Andrew Solanto, recently won second place at the 2020 Raytheon Engineering Games Among 30 high schools competing,
including local schools, the ESHS team was awarded second place in both portions of the competition. Photo El Segundo Unified School District.
In Los Angeles, Kitten Rescue
Helps Forgotten Felines
By Chase Maser
Photos by Ariel Romeo Davis
According to an article by LA Weekly
in 2015, Los Angeles was home to anywhere
See Kitten Rescue, page 8
between 1 million and 3 million
stray cats. Now, in 2020, that number
most likely favors the ladder.
Worst of all, there’s thousands of cats—if
not more—that have no chance of ever
being domesticated. Whether due to their
feral nature or challenges with disease, a
tremendous number of cats are doomed to
roam the streets of LA forever. Then again,
Kitten Rescue makes it their mission to
help forgotten felines find a new home.
Sandra Harrison—Executive Director
of Kitten Rescue—explains how the
non-profit all started with a kitten in a
paper bag.
“It was the spring of 1997. Kitten Rescue
founder, Sue Romaine, was leaving her
volunteer shift at the West Valley Animal
Shelter. She then met a gentleman carrying
a brown paper bag. The bag had
a tiny, four-week-old kitten inside of it.
He was headed to the shelter to turn it
in. The man told Sue that he had brought
the siblings in the day before, but this
one had been hard to catch. Sue’s heart
sank because she knew that the siblings
had been euthanized by the shelter due
to their young age. This kitten would
face the same fate if she didn’t intervene.
Friday
Partly
Cloudy
64˚/54˚
Saturday
Sunny
66˚/53˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
67˚/56˚
City Emergency Declared to
Slow Coronavirus
By Rob McCarthy
El Segundo city officials have declared a
local emergency for the coronavirus epidemic
and closed the city’s bars, beer pubs and
after-work hangouts where alcohol is served.
Dine-in service at restaurants also is prohibited
for two weeks and possibly longer. City
Manager Scott Mitnick issued the citywide
order on Monday in response to warnings from
public-health officials that the COVID-19 virus
had expanded quickly. The City Council on
Tuesday backed the city manager’s decision to
shutter social-gathering places through March
to keep people unknowingly carrying the
virus from mingling in crowds. And to keep
the number of new cases as low as possible.
The restriction on El Segundo businesses
took effect Monday and affects breweries,
wine bars, cigar lounges, nightclubs and all
bars that serve alcohol. They, along with the
restaurants, may continue to sell food that
must be picked up or delivered. The mandatory
closures will be reviewed in two weeks
and again in 60 days if the public-health
emergency continues. Cafeterias, commissaries
and nursing homes are exempt. The
dining ban doesn’t apply to food services
at defense contractors or transportation and
chemical facilities with kitchens that serve
employees meals. Grocery stores and food
banks aren’t restricted either, and neither are
pharmacies. Violators could be charged with
a misdemeanor that is punished by a $1,000
fine and up to six months in jail.
Officials at Tuesday’s council meeting emphasized
El Segundo has no confirmed cases
of the COVID-19 virus. Manhattan Beach
has four cases, and that proximity shifted
El Segundo’s emergency-response task force
to a higher state of alert, Fire Chief Chris
Donovan revealed Tuesday. Inglewood has
one case, and there are two in Westchester.
An El Segundo coronavirus response task
force was formed before Sunday’s announcement
by Gov. Gavin Newsom that he was
calling for more stringent measures, including
asking anyone 65 and over to stay home-bound,
to deal with the expected spread of COVID-19.
Fire Chief Donovan acknowledged Tuesday
that the epidemic represents an extraordinary
event for the city. He assured the council El
Segundo’s emergency services are trained and
ready to continue to deliver critical city services
and to deal with 911 calls from residents.
“Our police and fire departments continue to
remain fully staffed” and are responding to
calls for assistance, he said.
The city manager has assumed the role
of director of city emergency services. The
city has released daily updates about closures
and steps taken to protect city employees during
this time of uncertainty. “Stay informed,
stay alert, and stay safe,” Mayor Drew Boyles
advised El Segundo residents watching
Tuesday’s council meeting, which was open
See City Council, page 10