The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 110, No. 25 - June 24, 2021
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................14
Classifieds............................6
Crossword/Sudoku.............6
Entertainment......................3
Food.....................................14
Legals............................11-13
Pets......................................16
Police Reports.....................2
Real Estate.......................7-9
Sports.............................. 3,10
Weekend
Forecast
Amber Meshack Connects the
El Segundo Community to LAX
By Kiersten Vannest
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
is the fourth busiest airport in the world.
Second only to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport, LAX is the busiest
airport in the United States. Since its inception
Elizabeth Tobias Will Not Let
Local War Veterans Be Forgotten
By Duane Plank
Hopefully, whatever side of the currently
fractious political divide that you
frequent, whether you get your sometimes
dubious information from the Fox News
Channel or MSNBC, we can all come
together and agree that the treatment of
many returning United States war veterans
is sometimes shoddy, at best?
Well, someone who does not just talk
a good game, but gets in the game, is El
Segundo resident Elizabeth Tobias, who
grew up in a military family, with her
father proudly serving a 26-year stint in
the Air Force, a brother who served his
country in the Navy, as well as other
relatives who drew their pay in service
to the Armed Forces of the United States
of America.
Tobias, a Missouri native who moved
to El Segundo in 2003, is the driving
force behind a group of residents who
are doing their best to not only remember
the returning veterans, but to make a
difference in their day-to-day lives. She
and her cadre of volunteers have adopted
veterans who reside in low-income housing
in an apartment building on the cusp of
Inglewood. She and her crew started last
winter delivering donated items, what she
termed “the basic necessities of life,” such
as canned goods and hygiene products on
Veteran’s Day, 2020, and thanking the
in 1928, LAX has evolved and grown
to become California’s travel hub, a gateway
into Los Angeles.
All of this growth and innovation in the
runways, terminals, and renovations can
only happen with a strong and robust team
to keep the wheels turning. Keeping the
hiring process evolving as the airport does
is Amber Meshack, Director of Business,
Jobs, and Social Responsibility. Amber
heads up a division that aims to be a model
for other airports around the world, leading
new programs aimed at diversity, equity,
and inclusion.
“We take our commitment to our neighbors
seriously with respect to the social responsibility
side,” she says, “The consideration
of power and how our operations economically
impact those around us is really what
my job entails.”
This means ensuring fair hiring processes,
developing training programs, and writing
contracts that encourage the employment of
small local businesses. In addition, Meshack
has created a program called BuildLAX, which
helps train smaller contractors around the
area on the specifics of what it takes to be
successful working on construction projects
for larger corporations.
Most remarkable about her department is
a nationally recognized apprenticeship-ready
program called HireLAX. This program is
directly targeted at helping local workers create
new careers. Meshack relays the shortage of
construction workers right now due to high
demand and an aging construction workforce.
What HireLAX aims to do is to offer a
training program to people from all walks
of life in the Los Angeles and South Bay
area. This could be high school students
looking for an alternative to a four-year
college, people looking for new careers, or
even those with a past who are looking to
begin a new venture.
“These jobs pay very well, and they
provide a benefits package,” says Meshack,
“It’s also something where you could put
yourself through college working as a construction
worker.” As four-year colleges become
more of a prerequisite for the workforce,
less emphasis has been put on skilled
trade jobs like construction work. Meshack
tells of a female friend of hers who used Amber Meshack, Director of Business, Jobs, and Social Responsibil-
See Amber Meshack, page 5 ity at Los Angeles World Airports.
See Elizabeth Tobias, page 11
Friday
Mostly
Sunny
69˚/60˚
Saturday
Sunny
71˚/62˚
Sunday
Sunny
73˚/63˚
City Council Recognizes the
High School Girls Soccer Team
The El Segundo High School Girls Soccer Team had a phenomenal season and made it to the CIF Championship for the first time in the school’s history. Congratulations. Photo courtesy City of El Segundo.