EL SEGUNDO HERALD July 11, 2019 Page 3
F R EE
Shred Event / Identity Theft
Prevention Campaign
To help prevent identity theft, The City of
El Segundo in conjunction with Edco Waste
and Recycling Services will be holding a
Community Shred Day. The event will take place
on Saturday, July 13, 2019 from 10 am until
1pm in the City Hall parking lot on Standard
Street and is open to all El Segundo residents.
So bring your confidential documents for safe,
secure, on-site destruction. You can watch
as your sensitive material is professionally
shredded right in front of you!
For questions please call (310) 540-2977
Community Briefs
Precautions to Prevent Vehicle Theft
July is National Vehicle Theft Prevention
Month. There has been an increase in auto
thefts within El Segundo. Summers prove to
be the worst season for vehicle thefts. So, to
help keep vehicles safe, El Segundo Police
Department’s goal is to educate the public
and put out as much information regarding
auto theft and ways to prevent it.
Here is how you can keep thieves from
driving away with your ride:
• Stow your valuables in the trunk. Exposed
items will often encourage thievery.
• Don’t leave your key fob in the car. Always
lock your vehicle and never leave it running
or unattended.
• Park in well-lit/ well-traveled areas. Criminals
New Grant Funding for
Water Bottle Filling
The West Basin Municipal Water District
(West Basin) announced its Water Bottle
Filling Station Grant Program will return for
another year with increased funding opportunities.
Eligible public facilities can apply for
a $1,000 grant to install indoor water bottle
filling stations. New funding includes a larger,
$2,000 grant for outdoor filling stations, which
can cost more than indoor units. The popular
program provides community members with
access to safe, reliable drinking water and
encourages users to refill personal, eco-friendly
water bottles to reduce plastic waste.
Eligible grant applicants must be public facilities
located in the District service area that
meet all criteria specified in the application
guidelines. Grant details and application forms
are available at www.westbasin.org/fillingstations.
Applications will be received and reviewed
on a first-come, first-served basis until funds
are exhausted. A total of $35,000 in program
funding is available for the fiscal year running
July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020.
Since launching the program in 2017, West
Basin has installed 21 water bottle filling stations
throughout its service area. These 21 stations
have prevented the use of approximately 110,000
plastic water bottles annually, potentially decreasing
the harmful environmental impacts of
single-use plastics while also providing access
to free, high-quality water at local schools,
community centers and parks.
The City of Segundo and El Segundo Unified
School District were among the local agencies
awarded grant funding in 2018/19 to install
filling stations.
– Content: Abridged from
West Basin Press Release
hate light.
• If you see something, say something
(contact the ESPD dispatch center by dialing
911 or our non-emergency number
310-524-2760).
Prevention Devices:
An anti-theft device is a device that helps
prevent vandalism to or theft of a motor
vehicle and its contents. These can be a
locking device, alarms, sensors, or tracking
devices. Other methods include etching the
vehicles VIN number.
Types of locking devices:
• Steering wheel bar lock: The most popular
is the “CLUB.”
• Steering column collar: This protects entry
to the ignition through the column.
• Tire/wheel locks: Tool wraps around the
tire or wheel to immobilize the vehicle.
• Gearshift lock: Locks gearshifts in place
to make it impossible to shift the transmission
into gear.
• Ignition kill switch: Toggle switch is spliced
into the ignition and disables the vehicle
when the switch is off.
• Alarm: Horn, bell, siren or other sounding
device that is audible from a distance.
– Content: ESPD
“Forget bottled water; tap water is just as good!
Pour it into a reusable water bottle, and always
have fresh water on the go without wasting plastic.”
– E.A. Bucchianeri
Obituaries
Marjorie Davies Richards
Marjorie Davies Richards
passed away on June 21, 2019
at 96 years of age. She was
predeceased by her first husband
Ewart G. Davies (1976), second
husband Donald Richards (2003)
and son-in-law John P. Thornton
(2005). She was born Marjorie
Mae Pease December 1, 1922
in Crystal River, FL. Marjorie
graduated from Florida State
College for Women in 1945 and
moved to California shortly after. She married
in 1950 and moved to El Segundo in 1951.
As a registered dietitian, Marj
worked at Continental Airlines,
UCLA, Meals on Wheels and
VISTA. She loved to travel, garden
and collect cookbooks. She
was a strong, independent woman
who was ahead of her time in
many ways. She leaves behind
her daughters, Cyd Thornton and
Susan (Bob) Murphy, grandchildren
Emily (Jeff) Antenore, Cate
Thornton, Jeff (Tori) Murphy and
Amy Thornton and great granddaughters Iris
and Harper. •
West Basin Seed $$ Makes Yard
Conversions More Affordable
By Rob McCarthy
of the incentive, and the local water supplier
The West Basin Municipal Water District made
sweetened the offer by adding another dollar
some noise last week with an announcement
starting in July. The next landscape conversion
about its turf removal program. It raised
class is at 5:30 p.m. on July 16 at Inglewood
the incentive by $1 for customers to plant
City Hall. Residential and commercial property
yard-sized gardens that can thrive using less
owners are invited to enroll by calling (310)
irrigation. Outdoor irrigation of lawns and
371-7222.
flower beds account for half of the water used
Adding California-friendly, drought-tolerant
in the South Bay.
plant varieties around a property can save
The average check from West Basin to
1,800 gallons of drinking water each month,
owners who replace grass with drought-tolerant
according to West Basin. The water supplier is
landscaping around their properties is $3,900,
committed to securing a safe and reliable source
according to district spokeswoman DeAnne
of drinking water for its South Bay customers.
Blackmon. That’s based on an average lot size
It also hopes to increase the participation in
of 1,300 square feet. The turf removal incentives
the turf removal program, which is funded by
are flexible and can include residential properties
the Metropolitan Water District and the local
up to 5,000 square feet, she said. A property
West Basin district.
that size could be in line for a $15,000 check
The do-it-yourself approach won’t work for
for outdoor improvements.
everyone. There’s the turf removal, which is
John Arney runs a landscape construction
physically demanding. The sod is heavy, Arney
company in the South Bay and says any size
said, and it needs to be hauled away and disposed
check from West Basin will “get the ball rolling”
of properly. A property owner can expect to
on an outdoor renovation of the grounds. Expect
need to hire laborers and a dumpster for the
to pay anywhere from $7,500 to $15,000 for a
demolition stage of the landscape remodel.
professionally designed and installed landscape,
Arney recommends choosing plants in onegallon
said the owner of Helix Landscape Construction.
buckets because they cost less and will
“If you’re dissatisfied with your landscape as it
fill in eventually. Going from a green carpet of
is and someone is giving you four grand, those
grass in front and back to a new garden takes
are two very good incentives,” he said. Grass
patience, but Arney said the right selection
lawns are fine “for any other area other than
of California-friendly plants will fill in over
the dry Southwest where we’re in a desperate
time. “Plants need some room to grow into
situation with water shortages.”
one another,” he explained. And landscapes
West Basin is hosting classes for residents to
deserve trees, which have a cooling effect on
learn how to remove turf and choose landscaping.
the garden and the ground loses less water to
The Metropolitan Water District is paying $2
See West Basin, page 13