The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 110, No. 24 - June 17, 2021
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................14
Classifieds............................6
Crossword/Sudoku.............6
Film Review..........................5
Graduation Photos............15
Legals............................11-13
Obituaries.............................2
Pets......................................16
Real Estate.......................7-9
Sports.............................. 3,10
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Mostly
Sunny
71˚/62˚
Saturday
Sunny
73˚/62˚
Sunday
Sunny
72˚/61˚
El Segundo High School Class of 2021
Celebrates With In-Person Graduation
The Class of 2021 celebrates its journey. We wish you much happiness and success. For story and photos see pages 3 and 15. Photo by Gregg McMullin.
El Segundo Public Works Director
Elias Sassoon Keeps the Water Flowing
By Duane Plank
American Airlines Center, Sassoon has been
Elias Sassoon has dedicated himself to public
keeping himself busy, since August of 2020,
service for more than forty years. His experiences
tirelessly working on what some would say are
and successes along the way are why the City
mundane endeavors, like making sure the water
of El Segundo administrators selected Sassoon
flows when you turn on your faucet at home,
in the summer of 2020 to take over as Public
or diving into sprucing-up the long-neglected
Works Director. He has attacked his new post
El Segundo downtown flower poles. More
with the same fervor that marked his tenure of
about the poles later.
more than four decades, expertly filling similar
Said Sassoon, speaking about something we
positions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and
all take for granted: “You really don’t think
most recently, as the Public Works Department
about water through the faucet until you turn
Director in Rancho Palos Verdes.
on the faucet, and there is no water.” Sassoon
Sassoon, who hails from Iran, once known as
greets each challenge and task that he and
Persia (he prefers Persia), left his home country
his department face with a positive outlook,
when he was 17 to traverse to America. After
saying he considers himself a “servant to the
a pit-stop at JFK Airport in New York City, he
people. I have always tried to put a smile on
soon jetted to the North Texas environs, where
See Elias Sassoon, page 4
Elias Sassoon. Provided by the City of El Segundo.
he settled in and attended college, scoring
multiple degrees from the University of Texas
at Arlington, culminating with a master’s degree
LAX CEO Justin Erbacci Discusses
in Public Administration.
Airport Plans Ahead of the 2028 Olympics
He nabbed a job as a project manager for the
City of Fort Worth in 1980, where one of his
By Kiersten Vannest
the Chief Operations Officer, and he was
duties was to make sure people efficiently
Tired of LAX traffic congestion? CEO
officially appointed full-time CEO status
and expediently got from point A to point B,
of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA)
in June of last year.
working closely with the Transportation and
Justin Erbacci shares plans for a streamlined
LAWA encompasses LAX, Van Nuys
Public Works Director.
LAX ahead of the 2028 Olympics,
airport, and an aviation-related property
Sassoon later would draw his paycheck from
as well as his experience managing an
in Palmdale. In order to operate a major
the City of Dallas, where he spent some 25
airport during a global pandemic.
airport, there are three major entities
years and oversaw the construction of one of
Erbacci’s days are long and filled with
involved: the airport operator (in this
Dallas’s municipal jewels.
everything from Covid related upkeep to
case, LAWA), commercial air carriers and
Sassoon said that his work spearheading the
ground communication with flights to
aviation businesses, and federal agencies
construction of and overseeing all the facets
construction projects underway and in
like the Department of Homeland Security
of Dallas’ American Airlines Center, a nearly
development.
and the Department of Transportation.
½ billion-dollar project that was christened
“[The day] starts early and goes long,”
With one of the largest metropolitan
twenty years ago and is the home base for the
he laughs, trying to explain his day-to-day
hubs in the world, including travel from
NBA’s Maverick’s as well as the NHL Stars,
work. Erbacci was appointed interim CEO
around the globe, stepping into this leadership
is a piece of work that he is truly proud of.
of LAWA in January of 2020, just before
role would prove a challenge at any
“A fantastic project,” he said. While El Segundo
California went into lockdown because
time for anyone. But for Erbacci, he took
does not have the available turf to house
of the virus. Before that, he worked as
See Justin Erbacci, page 10
a construction project on the scale of the