The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 110, No. 27 - July 8, 2021
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................14
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Film Review..........................5
Food.....................................14
Legals............................12-13
Pets......................................15
Police Reports.....................4
Real Estate................8-11,16
Sports.............................. 3,11
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Mostly
Sunny
75˚/62˚
Saturday
Sunny
73˚/61˚
Sunday
Sunny
72˚/61˚
City Hosts 4th of July Celebration
The city hosted a much-appreciated fireworks show to the delight of residents. The city also highlighted El Segundo’s iconic water tower and had it lit up in red, white, and blue. Copyrighted photos by
Michael D. Robbins.
El Segundo’s Natalie Strong Attempts
to “Create Gold out of Every Day.”
By Duane Plank
Communicate with El Segundo resident
Natalie Strong, who serves as the cities
Arts and Cultural Advisory Council vicechairperson,
Donna Taylor Praises El Segundo for
its Donations to Animal Shelters
By Kiersten Vannest
From July of last year through May of
this year, Los Angeles processed over 9,000
dogs in its shelters. This was in addition
to over 6,000 cats and over 5,000 other
animals, like birds and other pets. Some
are found, some are surrendered, but all
are collected and kept at animal shelters
throughout the county. During this time,
shelters struggle to find enough resources
to care for all of these animals at any
given time. Enter Donna Taylor and the
generous community of El Segundo.
Every so often, Donna Taylor, a longtime
resident, and neighbor of El Segundo,
runs her donation drive for local animal
shelters. She asks her communities of
Playa Del Rey, Playa Vista, El Segundo,
and the surrounding neighborhoods to
donate towels, food, blankets, and other
necessities for the sake of rescued animals.
El Segundo, she says, never disappoints.
“El Segundo continuously steps up
to the plate and overfills my SUV with
whatever it is that I’m asking for,” says
Taylor. El Segundo specifically has fueled
the majority of her donation runs,
making sure the animals have towels for
surgeries, beds for comfort, and enough
food to keep them healthy.
Taylor says she has always loved animals.
After working for several shelters,
she realized that although they were doing
the best they could, many animals were
still not receiving the complete care they
and her return email features
the motivating tagline “create gold out of
every day.”
So, what does that mean? Strong is a child
of the evil empire a tad bit south, Manhattan
Beach (just kidding, Plank spent his formative
years in MB, which at one-time was
a quaint little beach town), an attendee of
the Chadwick School up in the Peninsula,
and a USC collegiate grad who spent some
schooling time in Kent, England, a year she
said was “amazing.”
Instead of encapsulating her living life
to the fullest philosophies, let us let Strong
have center stage. In her own words, we
will let Strong tell you about her motivating
philosophies. “Attempting to create gold
out of every day” is my artistic philosophy,”
she said. “The Alchemists (her email handle
starts with alchemist) were trying to make
gold out of lead, and though they never succeeded,
they never stopped believing that it
could be done. Pens and Paints and Paper
are my lead, and whether or not I make gold
out of them, I will never stop trying. I will
never stop believing that it is possible.” If
you want to view some of her artistic renderings,
you can access them through her
Instagram account.
Continued Strong: “My hashtag #letthemfindmeworking
is another idea that I live
by. When inspiration hits, when the Muses
visit, if I am working, then I am open to
receive that inspiration. Maybe what I am
working on today is nothing special, but you
never know. If the Muses visit, let them find
me working.”
On settling in El Segundo, Strong said that
“the thing I like best about (El Segundo)
is the scale. It is a place that is built and
operates on an individual human scale. One
person can make a difference; leave a mark.
It is possible to feel at least like you know
everyone. I can walk anywhere that I might
need to go. It is possible to be familiar with
all of it. It’s a knowable place.”
Someone who has met and associated
with Strong in our “knowable place” is
Josette Murphy. Murphy is the owner of
About Space Interiors in town, and she has
collaborated with Strong multiple times to
showcase Natalie’s artistic renderings during
the always popular Art Walk, which, if the
See Natalie Strong, page 5 El Segundo’s Natalie Strong. Photo provided by Natalie Strong.
See Donna Taylor, page 7