The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 107, No. 33 - August 16, 2018
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................11
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................9
Legals..................................11
Letters...................................3
Obituaries.............................2
Police Briefs........................3
Real Estate..................5-7,12
Sports....................................8
Weekend
Forecast
Eagle Soccer Wins CIF Title
Eagle soccer team poses after their 2-0 win over Hesperia in the CIF championship final game. For story see page 8. Photo by Gregg McMullin.
City Embarks on Homeless Plan
By Brian Simon
Fifteen. That is the number of homeless
persons in El Segundo as of the most recent
count just a few weeks ago. The total is down
significantly from 2017’s tally of 25. But while
the overall amount at first glance appears relatively
Heavy Foot Traffic Convinces
DMV to Open on Saturday
By Rob McCarthy
Welcome to the Department of Motor
Vehicles. Watch for slowing ahead.
The department notorious for its long
lines and agonizing wait times is now open
on Saturdays in Hawthorne and Culver
City. The DMV began its extended hours
in early August, a move necessitated by a
surge in applications for the new federally
approved driver’s license and ID card.
Not all DMV offices will be open
on Saturdays, and weekend service is
limited to driver’s licenses and vehicle
registration. Still, South Bay residents
who can’t resolve their renewals online
can visit these DMV offices from 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. any Saturday. The extended
hours started on Aug. 6.
DMV Director Jean Shimoto echoed the
sentiments of many drivers and vehicle
owners who’ve spent a long day waiting
for their numbers to be called at one of
the state’s 60 DMV locations. “Today’s
wait times are unacceptable and we are
continuing to take action to improve service
for all Californians,” Shimoto said
in announcing the expansion of Saturday
hours throughout the state.
Behind-the-wheel driving tests won’t
be offered as part of the Saturday effort
to deliver motor vehicle services at a
small, it does not downplay what has
become a major issue county-wide as well as
in town. “It certainly feels like there’s more
homeless people [in El Segundo] than there
have ever been,” Mayor Drew Boyles said.
El Segundo Police Lieutenant Dan Kim, a
26-year veteran of the force, confirmed the
feeling. “From a level of service calls, I’ve
seen nothing like this [as] in the past couple
of years,” he said about the local homeless
population. As one way to tackle this and other
quality-of-life issues head-on, the department
established the Community Lead Officer (CLO)
team, with Officer Marco Lemus spearheading
the effort to identify who is homeless in El
Segundo – going so far as to develop spread
sheets with photos. Community members also
played a key role through a recent donation drive
that provided clothing and toiletries to those
in need (who were thankful for the handouts).
“Marco directly helped at least six homeless
people get to a shelter,” Kim reported, noting
that this was quite an accomplishment. “A
lot of [homeless] people don’t want help and
don’t trust the police.” However, the officers
didn’t relent. Through continual contact, they
managed to earn that trust. And while the end
result was a significant drop in the number of
homeless, Kim would not rest on those laurels.
“I still think we can do better as a city and
police department,” he admitted.
To take the next steps in addressing the
problem, the El Segundo Police Department
(ESPD) hosted a town hall meeting in April to
get community input on homelessness. It also
applied for and obtained grant monies from
Los Angeles County to develop a homeless
plan. The El Segundo City Council approved
that plan earlier in the month.
A chunk of the LA County funding went to
the El Segundo-based housing consultant Lois
Starr to create the new plan. Consulting team
member Abby Arnold drove home the sheer
extent of homelessness throughout the region
during a recent presentation to the Council. She
reported that a count this past January revealed
there were 52,765 homeless persons in LA
County. Of those, 39,796 were unsheltered.
El Segundo is part of the County’s Service
Planning Area 8. Of the recent 15 people
counted as homeless in town, four were in
vehicles, two were in makeshift shelters and
nine lived on the streets. The primary goal here
as well as elsewhere in the County is to get
these people inside first. Once they are safely
housed, then deal with substance abuse, job
training and other issues that may be at hand.
Arnold praised El Segundo’s outreach, saying
that ESPD is “doing a wonderful job of
building relationships and encouraging them
[homeless] to get into housing.” She added
that follow-up and wraparound services are
part of the program, so those people are not
ignored or left behind after they move into
their new abode.
Housing for the homeless has become a top
regional priority. Two years ago, voters passed
Measure H to provide up to $400 million
See Homeless Plan, page 10
See DMV, page 10
Friday
Mostly
Sunny
75˚/69˚
Saturday
Partly
Cloudy
76˚/67˚
Sunday
Mostly
Sunny
78˚/67˚