The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 104, No. 39 - September 24, 2015 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................14 Classifieds............................4 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Film Review..........................4 Legals............................ 12,13 Pets......................................15 Police Reports.....................3 Real Estate.....................7-10 Sports....................................6 Weekend Forecast Volunteers Donate to Feed Veterans On September 18, a total of 30 El Segundo volunteers, including members of El Segundo Cares, the El Segundo Rotary Club and Chevron’s Veterans Employee Network, distributed clothing and served lunch to veterans at the VA Hospital in West Los Angeles. Lunch was prepared for all on barbecues purchased by the Rotary Club. Photo provided by Lily Craig of Chevron. Friday Sunny 86˚/71˚ Saturday Sunny 85˚/71˚ Sunday Sunny 85˚/70˚ City’s Arborist Pleased to See Tree Budget a Bit More Limber By Brian Simon During its summer strategic planning sessions, the El Segundo City Council agreed to increase the annual budget allocation towards tree maintenance by another $75,000. The news warmed the heart of Park Maintenance Superintendent Mark Trujillo, the City’s arborist, who hoped additional funding could help him and his staff address long-deferred work on El Segundo’s “urban forest.” Now in his 30th year on the job in El Segundo, Trujillo not only oversees local street trees but also maintenance of parks, medians, open spaces and any landscaping on City-owned property. “We have an in-house tree crew that prunes, removes trees and stumps, and plants trees— but unfortunately, they cannot keep up with the maintenance of the City’s 6,000 trees,” Trujillo said. “That is where the contract tree maintenance comes into play. During the economic downturn, less money was available for contract maintenance and so a longer cycle took place between tree-trimming. We would like to get back to a four- to five-year cycle with our grid pruning, which will keep the trees healthy and safe.” That being said, Trujillo and staff also face challenges in righting some landscaping wrongs of the past. “Some inappropriate species were planted in limited growing space, or a tree that can reach 50 feet tall was planted under power lines—and as a result of that, trees are topped by utility companies and that leaves the new growth susceptible to failure or the tree roots cause damage to curbs and sidewalks to create tripping hazards,” Trujillo said. He added that the City now makes sure to plant species compatible with El Segundo’s climate zone and available growing spaces. That includes shorter-height trees under power lines to avoid future clearance issues. A South Bay native who was one of nine children and grew up in nearby Gardena, Trujillo set his career path in motion while still in high school after taking horticulture classes there and enrolling in a Future Farmers of America program. But an industrial accident two weeks after graduation temporarily derailed his plans. “I spent the next four years going through a series of reconstructive hand surgeries and rehab,” Trujillo said. “After I completed the rehab process, I was encouraged to go into a different profession that wasn’t as physically demanding…but I didn’t think working in a building or at a desk would fit with my personality. I liked working outdoors and seeing the physical results of my labor.” Trujillo’s desire to “keep it outside” led to his first notable position in 1982 as a Parks Maintenance Worker for the City of Hermosa Beach. After three years in the small department there, he realized that advancement opportunities were few and far between. “I then applied, tested, interviewed and was hired by the City of El Segundo in 1985 as a Park Maintenance Worker and was promoted to Park Maintenance Worker II within a couple of months,” he said. In that capacity, Trujillo spent most of his time at Recreation Park and thankfully not at a desk. He continued to rise up the ranks, with stints See Arborist, page 11 School Board Views Special Presentation on District Testing By Duane Plank The Tuesday night meeting of the El Segundo Unified School District School Board featured special presentations by Preschool Director Guadalupe Grijalva and Marisa Janicek, the District’s Executive Director of Educational Services. Grijalva spoke about the possible expansion of afternoon hours for the Eagles’ Nest Preschool; Janicek took to the presentation podium and detailed the District’s implementation of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) testing program. In her presentation, Grijalva noted that “we heard the requests of parents in our program that needed additional time for their children in a caring and educational setting.” The current program that is in place includes a p.m. session that runs from 12:00 to 3 p.m., serves only threeyear old children, and has an enrollment capped at 11 students. Grijalva and staff are proposing to extend care until 4:00 p.m., with both three and four-year-old students accommodated. Extending the Eagles’ Nest hours will also help meet the needs of working parents. Grijalva is hoping to implement the new extendedhours program in the next week. Grijalva’s presentation noted that 32 families who were surveyed were interested in participating in the possible extendedhours option. Wrote the Preschool Director in an email sent prior to the meeting: “We surveyed families about our programs and services and one of the things that we discovered was that we were not meeting the needs of families who sought additional See School Board, page 12
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