The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 107, No. 13 - March 29, 2018
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................14
Civic Day...............................3
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................6
Legals............................12-13
Politically Speaking..........14
Police Reports.....................3
Real Estate.....................7-11
Sports.............................. 5,12
Weekend
Forecast
1st Annual Civic Day at City Hall
Council members, department heads and staff joined with El Segundo High School seniors for the 1st Annual Civic Day (#elsegundocivicday2018) last Friday at City Hall. For more information about and
photos from this successful collaboration, see page 3. Photo Provided by City of El Segundo.
Mayor Fuentes Holds Court at
Farewell State of the City Event
By Brian Simon
As she wrapped up her third and final State
of the City address on March 20 before her
upcoming retirement from local public service,
El Segundo Mayor Suzanne Fuentes received
a big surprise -- a video featuring personal
thank-yous and best wishes from a who’s
who of community leaders. “Going forward,
we will try to fill the big shoes you’ve left
for us,” Councilmember Don Brann said to
his colleague in the El SegundoTV-created
montage. City Manager Greg Carpenter spoke
of how when Fuentes retired from her day
job at Northrop Grumman, she came to him
excited that she could now become a full-time
mayor—and was looking for things to do. “I
don’t think anyone understands how much
time you spend being the mayor,” he said. El
Segundo Chamber of Commerce CEO and
event host Marsha Hansen commented, “You
make our job a joy.”
Through the video, Fuentes also heard from
luminaries from the sports world -- Los Angeles
Kings President Luc Robitaille and Los
Angeles Lakers COO Tim Harris. The latter
called her “a true leader” in helping the basketball
franchise build its new training center
that was also the site of the State of the City
event, as a packed audience enjoyed lunch on
the Lakers’ court while occasionally eyeing
the numerous championship trophies gleaming
in the distance in the window of the general
manager’s office on the second floor.
But before receiving recognition for her eight
years of service on the El Segundo City Council
(the last four as mayor), Fuentes provided an
overview of the past 12 months’ accomplishments
with some additional perspective that
harkened back to 2010. She noted that when
she first joined the Council that year, the City
faced a $10 million deficit and struggled to
balance budgets by selling property and excess
cars, furloughing employees, and using
one-time moneys. “It was like whack-a-mole
and it wasn’t sustainable,” she said. “When I
became mayor four years ago, I committed to
structurally balancing our budget. It’s been a
financial challenge providing services, negotiating
with unions, paying down our unfunded
pension liability and using technology to enter
the 21st century, but we did it.”
To illustrate some of those financial challenges,
Fuentes reported that 16 percent of
the City’s general fund now goes to pension
payments, with the amount predicted to swell
to 25 percent by 2022. She pointed to “strategic
decisions” made by the Council and staff
to invest in and improve local infrastructure
and services and emphasized that “a balanced
budget, healthy reserve and improved efficiency
are critical” to maintain fiscal stability.
Meanwhile, the mayor described 2017 as “a
wonderful year” with El Segundo celebrating
its 100th birthday and marking the occasion
See Mayor Fuentes, page 11
Mayor Pro Tem Drew Boyles presents Mayor Suzanne Fuentes with a bouquet of flowers and heartfelt thanks on behalf of the
City. Photo: Robert Cetl.
ES School Board Honors Soccer
Champs; Gets Site Safety Update
By Duane Plank
On Tuesday evening, members of the
El Segundo School Board recognized the
boys varsity soccer team that captured El
Segundo High School’s first-ever boys CIF
soccer championship. The team followed
up that feat the next week by clinching
the school’s first-ever Southern Section
Regional championship with a victory
over Hesperia in a match that concluded
with penalty kicks.
Twenty-four members of the varsity
were recognized, as were head coach
Andrew Kelly and his coaching staff. El
Segundo High Principal Jennifer Tedford
was in attendance and said, “We are so
proud of our boys soccer team and their
coaches. They have made history for our
high school athletic program.”
El Segundo Unified School District
Superintendent Melissa Moore gave kudos
to the parents of local soccer players. She
said noted that their support of AYSO
and club teams helped pave the way for
the high school’s current soccer success.
Coach Kelly emailed that “what allowed
us to be successful was the rocky start we
had.” He wrote of early-season injuries
and “silly errors” that marred the early
part of the non-league schedule. After
implementing a “slight tactical change,”
he said his players “did a great job of
rallying around themselves.” The team’s
See School Board, page 11
Friday
Sunny
68˚/55˚
Saturday
Mostly
Cloudy
67˚/57˚
Sunday
AM Clouds/
PM Sun
68˚/56˚