EL SEGUNDO HERALD September 17, 2020 Page 3
Correction
A story that appeared Sept. 10 about
the council’s decision. Councilman Lance
El Segundo’s plans to improve the downtown
Giroux was the only council member without
area and Civic Plaza contained an error about
a conflict of interest. •
By Dr. Don Brann
Charter Schools 101
No two children have the same learning
needs. Fortunately, a variety of school choice
options exist today, including public, private,
and charter schools. This column focuses
primarily on charter schools, which serve
more than 600,000 students in California,
or about 10 percent of the public school
student population.
What Is a Charter School?
Charter schools are free public schools
open to all students. That’s right—no tuition
and no limits on who can attend based on
where they live! There are no eligibility or
entrance requirements to attend a charter
school. By law, charter schools must admit
all students who wish to attend the school
and must institute a public lottery process
for admissions if the number of students
interested in attending the school exceeds
the school’s capacity.
In California, charter schools were
originally authorized in 1992 to “encourage
innovative teaching methods” and spur
systemic change. In short, charters were
envisioned to be “research and development”
laboratories, free of many of the bureaucratic
rules that hamper traditional schools to help
enhance district improvement. With fewer
rules and regulations than traditional public
schools, charter schools are allowed the
freedom to innovate and design their own
educational program.
Each state independently regulates charter
schools. In California, charter schools may
be authorized by a school district or a county
office of education. Most charter schools
are classroom based. Some are hybrid (oncampus
+ remote), others are non-classroom
based or online.
Charters must accept students without
discrimination, like any public institution.
Charters are required by law to meet state
and federal academic standards, and may
not discriminate against any pupil on the
basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, or
disability. By law, charters may not ask any
questions pertaining to a student’s special
needs or English language proficiency until
after an offer of enrollment is made. Charters
are required to hire credentialed teachers for
college preparatory subjects, just like all
traditional public schools.
Like traditional public schools, charters
receive state funding based on a formula
for each child enrolled in the school. In
ABC Doc
Police Reports
Monday, Sept 7th
An identity theft report was taken at 1542
hours from the 600 block of North Pacific
Coast Highway. The suspect made several
fraudulent charges to the victim’s accounts.
One male adult was arrested at 0228 hours
from California Street and Imperial Highway
for misdemeanor DUI.
A burglary report was taken at 0200 hours
from the 800 block of South Aviation Boulevard.
Unknown suspect(s) broke into several
storage containers.
Tuesday, Sept 8th
One male adult was arrested at 1444 hours
from the 500 block of California Street for
attempt murder, criminal threats, assault
with a deadly weapon, burglary, battery,
misdemeanor hit and run and one LASD
misdemeanor warrant.
A petty theft report was taken at 1638
hours from the 500 block of North Pacific
Coast Highway. Unknown suspect(s) stole a
backpack from the store.
One male adult was arrested at 2000 hours
from the 600 block of North Pacific Coast
Highway for one outstanding Glendale P.D.
misdemeanor warrant.
Wednesday, Sept 9th
A grand theft report was taken at 0600
hours from the 600 block of Arena Street.
Unknown suspect(s) stole the victim’s catalytic
converter from his vehicle.
A theft of mail report was taken at 0822
hours from the 100 block of Lomita Street.
Unknown suspect(s) stole the victim’s mail
from his mailbox.
A petty theft report was taken at 1827 hours
from the 100 block of Arena Street. Unknown
suspect(s) stole the victim’s mailbox.
One male adult was arrested at 0318 hours
from Marine Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard
for misdemeanor DUI.
An online petty theft report was taken at
0506 hours from the 400 block of Kansas
Street. Unknown suspect(s) stole a sign from
the victim’s front lawn.
An online misdemeanor hit and run report
was taken at 0507 hours from the 700 block
of South Pacific Coast Highway.
Thursday, Sept 10th
A fraudulently obtaining money report was
taken at 1115 hours from the 2300 block of
Utah Avenue. Unknown suspect(s) fraudulently
wired funds from the victim’s account.
A burglary (residential) report was taken
at 1448 hours from the 800 block of Main
Street. Unknown suspect(s) stole the victim’s
property from her carport.
A burglary (residential) report was taken
See Police Reports, page 6
Iconic Richmond Bar and
Grill Under New Ownership
in Challenging Times
By Duane Plank
Talk about a heavy lift. Owning a restaurant
or bar and grill can be problematic in the best
of times. Possible seven- day workweeks, long
daily hours, staying abreast of neighboring
competition in the industry, dealing with
mercurial employees and suppliers, as well
as occasional over-served customers, typically
razor-thin profit margins, yada, yada, yada…
And then you throw in a deadly pandemic
that we have not witnessed the likes of in
more than 100 years…great time to become
the new owners of a bar and grill, right?
But all of the above did not deter the new
owners of the historic Richmond Bar and
Grill (RBG), Riley Montz and Zach Lyall.
The establishment, located on the west side
of Richmond Street in old town El Segundo,
is one of the city’s oldest buildings, they say.
The duo hatched a plan to purchase the bar
and grill back in 2019.
Richmond Bar and Grill has the vibe of
the somewhat fictional bar “Cheers” that was
featured in the smash-hit NBC television show
that, some of you remember, was a staple
of the network, airing, if my foggy memory
serves me correctly, mostly on Thursday
nights back in the day.
While you won’t find Cheers actors Ted
Danson or Shelley Long dutifully serving
the RBG faithful…you will find the new
owners doing their best to continue to make
the RBG a place “Where everybody knows
your name.”
Co-owner Lyall knows a little about TV
production, having garnered multiple Emmy’s
for film production. “Doing this has been
such a blessing,” he said of owning the bar,
citing a challenging workload, taking over a
new business and “ramping it up.”
Longtime customer and El Segundo resident
Jon Warren said that the new owners
had done a great job maintaining the vibe of
RBG, continuing many of the past protocols,
food and beverage choices, and updating a
few things. He called the RBG an “old-school
establishment,” noting the “sleepy, family
vibe” of El Segundo. He said the new owners
have “done a great job” of continuing
the RBG traditions that were established by
the previous owners, the Brown family, who
owned RBG for more than a quarter-century.
“It still feels like the same old place, with
the old-school charm vibe,” Warren said.
Montz and Lyall met during Riley’s tenure
working at Salt Creek Grille, which lasted
more than a decade. Lyall used to hang-out
with co-workers. “We hit it off right away,”
Montz said.”
“We couldn’t be happier operating such a
historic business, protecting its history, and
welcoming both old and new customers,”
Montz said.
His business partner, Lyall, had a different
pathway to ownership of RBG. Raised in
nearby Culver City, Lyall liked the familyoriented
vibe of El Segundo and moved here
at age 18. He has spent 15 years working in
commercial film production as a producer and
director, winning those three Emmy’s. But
Lyall, who loves his production job, wasn’t
a fan of the demanding hours and distance
from loved one’s that his work entailed,
so he started planning an exit strategy that
would allow him to spend more time with
wife Leah, and “apply the things that he
loves and build a place that feels like home.”
STRESSED?
HELP IS JUST A CALL AWAY!
310.670.1410
AMCS Offers Telehealth Services on A Sliding Scale
and A Variety of Virtual Group Therapy Classes:
• COUPLES & COVID – COMMUNICATIONS, CARING AND COMPANIONSHIP
• MINDFULNESS – FINDING PEACE DURING A PANDEMIC
• EMERGING ADULTS – NAVIGATING YOUR 20s
• MEN’S SUPPORT GROUP
• GRIEF AND LOSS
• LGBT ESTEEM
WWW.AMCSHELPS.COM
AIRPORT MARINA COUNSELING SERVICE
7891 LA TIJERA BOULEVARD IN WESTCHESTER • (310) 670-1410
See ABC Doc, page 12
See Richmond Bar, page 6
The El Segundo Herald
wants to sincerely thank
all the advertisers that are sticking
with us, during this difficult time.
XOXO
XOXO
XOXO
XOXO