The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 106, No. 38 - September 21, 2017
Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............2
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................16
Community Briefs...............6
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................7
Legals............................14-15
Police Reports.....................2
Real Estate........ 10-13,18-20
Sports.................................5,8
Weekend
Forecast
Local Resident Celebrates Her
Own Centennial
The City of El Segundo isn’t the only one celebrating a centennial in 2017. Resident Gertie Haas, who has lived in town since the early 1950s, celebrated her 100th birthday this month with a party at
the Embassy Suites. During that event, Christine Collette presented Gertie with a special commendation from Mayor Suzanne Fuentes recognizing the milestone. Photo Provided by Christine Collette. •
Remembering Former Mayor
Kelly McDowell: 1952-2017
By Brian Simon
The first time I met Kelly McDowell, we
were both in different ways the new kids
on the block. It was a Sunday morning in
the spring of 1998 and I had just begun
covering local news for the Herald. I had
signed up for a day trip to the then-fledgling
Getty Center in hopes of getting my feet
wet and meeting some of the powers that
be around town—not to mention picking up
a little culture along the way. Hopping on
the bus departing from City Hall, I grabbed
a seat towards the back where across the
aisle from me sat a tall, thin, grey-coiffed,
mustachioed gent in his mid-forties clad
in faded Levis, a denim shirt and loafers.
Suffice to say his attire and demeanor stood
out from the rest of the crowd. When he
introduced himself to me in the signature
booming voice that was one of his trademarks
(along with a hearty laugh that some
thought registered on the Richter Scale), I
recognized the name as a just-elected new
member of the El Segundo City Council.
By the time the bus dropped us off at
the museum roughly 40 minutes later, I
had already learned plenty of interesting
facts about the man born Hobart Kelliston
McDowell III but whom everyone called
Kelly. A native of Chicago but raised in
Fairfax County, Virginia, he was the eldest
See Kelly McDowell, page 6
Friday
Sunny
70˚/61˚
Saturday
Sunny
71˚/60˚
Sunday
Sunny
77˚/63˚
Council Hears From Residents on
Housing Project Construction Problems
By Brian Simon
One of the most well-known Dr. Seuss
tales is the classic Horton Hears a Who. But
in El Segundo these days, the story is more
like, “Who Hears a Horton?” In this case
the main character is not an elephant, but
renowned homebuilder D.R. Horton—and
the “who” is apparently just about everyone
who lives nearby. On Tuesday night, unsuspecting
members of the El Segundo City
Council (minus Mayor Suzanne Fuentes,
who was out of town for the meeting) got
an earful from a procession of local residents
voicing displeasure about ongoing adverse
construction impacts from crews building
a housing development at the old Imperial
Avenue school site.
Residents from adjacent blocks of Sheldon
Street, McCarthy Court and Walnut Avenue
spoke to the Council about excessive noise
from the project. John Dragone reported
peaks as high as 125 decibels, with average
levels well above acceptable limits. He also
mentioned crew members “screaming” and
spewing profanities. Kathy Dragone revealed
that neighbors signed a petition asking the City
of El Segundo to step in to ensure building
and noise codes are enforced. She also played
an audio clip from her cell phone to give the
Council an idea about the volume of noise
that she said “goes on all day” and causes
shaking similar to an earthquake.
Other speakers complained about damage
(e.g. cracks on walls and floors due to the
ground movement from construction) to their
properties as well as rampant dust and dirt.
According to Kathy Dragone, D.R. Horton has
been unresponsive as of late—going “weeks
between return calls.” She added, “We are at
our wits’ end.”
Mayor Pro Tem Drew Boyles admitted he
was “caught off guard” by news of the problems.
City Manager Greg Carpenter said he
emailed a D.R. Horton point person during
public communications and indicated that staff
will address the matter with the company as
soon as possible. “There are things they can
See City Council, page 16