The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 109, No. 16 - April 16, 2020
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................7
City Council..........................3
Classifieds............................6
Crossword/Sudoku.............6
Legals....................................7
Neighborhood Therapist.....2
Police Reports.....................3
Real Estate........................5,8
Sports....................................3
Weekend
Forecast
El Segundo Police Department
Thanks Marina Del Rey Hospital
Rules for Staying Safe and Neighborly
By Rob McCarthy
Coronavirus has redefined what it means to be
a good neighbor in El Segundo, and it happened
so quickly that residents willing to do the right
thing aren’t too sure how. The new rules have
reduced non-essential travel, closed schools and
bars and beaches, and limited how and where
residents socialize and get their exercise. Four
weeks into the public health emergency, the
community is beginning to adapt and seeing early
signs that home-confinement and safe-distancing
- while hard on everyone - is worth the sacrifice.
El Segundo, on Monday, had 11 reported
cases of COVID-19, a gain of four cases over
the prior week. Residents have been living under
Community Counts
Penny Koenig - Astronaut
Like so many other parents in El Segundo,
we have been working to establish our “new
normal,” balancing our work lives with
homeschooling, all under the same roof.
To give our six-year-old daughter Penny
something to look forward to and focus
on, we have been theming each week and
creating educational games and activities
on that theme. Last week was Space Week
and we found a creative way to recycle
copies of the El Segundo Herald, giving
them a second life as paper mache space
helmets for Penny and her beloved Snoopy.
Coupled with soda bottle rocket jet packs,
they certainly made socially-distanced spirits
soar in the neighborhood on our daily walk!
Our family sends much love and wishes
for continued strength and good health
to the El Segundo community in these
unsettling times. Everyone is doing great
and working together apart and we look
forward to getting through this and being
back out there with you all soon.
– Jenny Koenig •
a local-emergency declaration since March
16, called by City Manager Scott Mitnick
and approved by the City Council to defend
the community from becoming a South Bay
hotspot. COVID-19 is the disease that develops
in patients who contract the now-worldwide
coronavirus. El Segundo is following the lead of
the federal government, the governor and Los
Angeles County, Mitnick said last week during
a town-hall meeting carried on El Segundo TV.
“We, in El Segundo, are careful not to overstep,”
Mitnick said of the pre-emptive actions
taken to date. The city was quick to set up an
emergency-management incident team to get
ahead of the contagious virus. From the beginning,
the team - City Manager Mitnick, Fire
Chief Chris Donovan, Police Chief Bill Whalen,
Emergency Management Coordinator Randy
Collins and COVID-19 Incident Commander
Jeff Leyman have met daily to coordinate the
citywide response. The city communications
office has kept residents updated through email
about new developments, including confirmed
cases of COVID-19 in the city. Mayor Drew
Boyles gives regular updates, too, on ESTV.
The recommendation from the federal Centers
for Disease Control is that people maintain a
six-foot distance from others in public places,
including sidewalks, parking lots, grocery stores,
pharmacies, and other essential businesses that
have permission to remain open during the COVID
19 shutdown. Gatherings in homes, backyards
and any public areas are prohibited under a
Los Angeles County health order in effect
through May 15. The visitation ban allows
daycare providers or home-health aides to come
into a home, but no such exceptions should be
made for a family unless they live there, Fire
Chief Donovan advised. “This is tough,” he
admitted, adding that “unfortunately, having
social gatherings at your home is not the way
to stay safe.”
Police have issued warnings to groups of
people who were socializing, prompting calls
from the neighbors. Police Chief Whalen said
his officers could start issuing misdemeanor
citations to people for not following socialdistancing
guidelines. The town-hall session
See Staying Safe, page 2
Friday
Partly
Cloudy
64˚/56˚
Saturday
AM Clouds/
PM Sun
63˚/54˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
65˚/56˚
One week ago, Officers McEntyre and Black delivered breakfast sandwiches on behalf of ESPD to the frontline medical staff at Marina Del Rey Hospital. Blue Butterfly worked hand in hand with ESPD
to make sure breakfast sandwiches would be ready to pick up and drop off for the medical staff who are working tirelessly around the clock. Photo El Segundo Police Department.