EL SEGUNDO HERALD October 3, 2019 Page 3
Fire Safety Corner
Fire Prevention Week
Community Briefs
Announcing the City of El Segundo’s
Twisted Tales: Haunted House
on Grand Avenue
Calendar of Events
Deadline for Calendar items is the prior
Thursday by noon. Calendar items are $1
per word up to 25 words. Email listings to
marketing@heraldpublications.com. We accept
Visa and MasterCard.
THURSDAY, OCT. 3
• El Segundo Certified Farmer’s Market, 3:00
PM. – 7:00 PM., located on Main Street,
Downtown El Segundo.
• CSS Wellness Family Night, 6:00 PM. – 9:00
PM., CSS Quad, 700 Center Street, Call:
310-615-2676.
• Active Aging Week – Metro on the Move,
Dial a Ride & Westside Pacific Villages,
11:00 AM. – 12:30 PM., El Segundo Public
Library, 111 W. Mariposa Ave., Call: 310-
524-2728.
FRIDAY, OCT. 4
• Bingo, 1:00 PM. - 3:00 PM., 50 Plus, $3.00
minimum, Senior Club of El Segundo, 339
Sheldon Street
• Active Aging Week – Just Draw at the El
Segundo Public Library, 10:00 AM. – 11:00
AM., a free drawing workshop, El Segundo
Public Library, 111 W. Mariposa Ave., Call:
310-524-2728.
SATURDAY, OCT. 5
• Saturday Night Dance, 7:00 PM. – 9:45 PM.,
Cost: $5.00 Per Person, Adults of all Ages
Welcome, Senior Club of El Segundo, 339
Sheldon St., Call: 310-524-2705.
South Bay Health Plans Should
Be More Affordable by Next Year
By Rob McCarthy
Covered California has announced that South
Bay residents who buy their health insurance
through the state’s health care exchange have
more to look forward to in 2020, including
new financial assistance and bargains because
of increased competition. Anthem Blue Cross
is expanding into southwest Los Angeles
County next year, giving residents a choice
of 10 health plans for themselves and their
families. While enrollment for 2020 won’t
begin until Nov. 1, consumers are encouraged
to shop and compare now among the health
plans. The coverage limits, co-pays and monthly
premiums are listed at the Covered California
website, www.coveredca.com.
Out-of-pocket monthly premiums next year
should drop by 9 percent for people willing
to switch their health plans to the best value,
the exchange says. For those who choose not
to change, their monthly premium will stay
nearly identical to what they’re paying now.
That’s the smallest increase since Covered
California opened in 2014.
For the first time, middle-income families
shut out of premium assistance from the government
will get some financial assistance. The
funding from Sacramento is intended to help those
families whose health costs actually increased
once Obamacare was launched. Subsidies have
been a popular feature of the consumer health
care law from the beginning. Low-income residents
pay as little as $1 per month for a plan.
Dec. 15 is the deadline to enroll in a plan
and be insured on Jan. 1. California extends the
deadline every year to Jan. 15 for Californians
to avoid a penalty, though their plans don’t
take effect until Feb. 1. And yes, there still is
a penalty for non-compliance.
Despite changes by Congress that weakened
the Affordable Care Act, the state will penalize
a person up to $695 and a family $2,100
for failing to meet the January enrollment
deadline. The state mandate requiring that all
residents be covered by a private or government
health plan is new, and will be enforced
by the Franchise Tax Board. It replaces the
federal individual mandate, which Congress
eliminated at the end of 2017.
The Affordable Care Act remains the law of
the land. Congress repealed the penalty at the
heart of the Affordable Care Act, also known
as Obamacare. Congress repealed the penalty
when it approved the federal tax code overhaul
at the end of 2017. Texas has challenged the
law in federal court, arguing without a penalty
the law isn’t valid anymore.
Employer-sponsored health plans and federal
Medicare enrollees aren’t affected by the rate
See Health Plans, page 8
ALTERNATIVE BUSINESS FUNDING
PURCHASE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
AS LOW AS 10% DOWN
David Abbate
310.662.3681
office@altbusinessfunds.com
455 Main Street | El Segundo, CA 90245
1 Large Pizza
2 Toppings $11.99
310-335-6070
+tax
M-F 10:00 am - 10:00 pm
Sat 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
MENTION COUPON WHEN ORDERING
We deliver
100 W. Imperial Ave. #B, El Segundo
Twisted Tales: Opening Night –
Thursday, Oct. 17
Additional Shows: Oct. 18 to Oct. 31, 2019
Teen Center Closure: Monday, Sept. 16
to Friday, Nov. 8
The City of El Segundo Recreation and
Parks along with the El Segundo Rotary Club
and El Segundo Masonic Lodge are proud to
announce Twisted Tales: Haunted House on
Grand Avenue. Twisted Tales takes classic
fairy to a whole new level! The haunt will take
place at the location of the El Segundo Teen
Center at 405 E. Grand Ave. in El Segundo.
Fall down the rabbit hole into famous fairy
tale stories with a dark twist! Guests will encounter
an alternate timeline from Hansel and
Gretel’s not-so-sweet adventure, to Beauty &
Beast’s happily never after as well as a diabolical
operation replacing tea time for Alice
and her friends!
This exciting attraction will open on Thursday,
Oct. 17 and operate until Halloween on Thursday,
Oct. 31. There will be special “kid-friendly”
shows on October 24 and October 30 from
5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Oct. 20 and 27 from 4
p.m. to 5 p.m. The house lights will be left on
and the monsters are tamed or taking a nap.
During regular event nights, the monsters will
be wide awake and ready to leave you shivering
in your shoes! Hours are on Fridays and
Saturdays, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays, 6
p.m. to 9 p.m., with an extra special scary night
on Halloween from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Don’t
worry, there will be various exit points along
the maze just in case it gets a little too scary!
Presale wristbands are available for purchase
at the Clubhouse, Checkout Building and
Joslyn Center in Recreation Park for $15 per
person. Wristbands will be $20 at the door
and during operational hours. Adults are free
if accompanying children during the “kidfriendly”
show times. Wristbands will not be
available for pre-sale rates when Twisted Tales
is in operation.
The El Segundo Teen Center will be closed
beginning Monday, Sept. 16 for the build-out
and will reopen on Friday, Nov. 8. The exterior
locations, Skate Park and Basketball Court,
will remain open and supervised during this
time but will be closed during Twisted Tales
operating hours.
Twisted Tales is a fundraiser with all proceeds
to benefit the Teen Center, El Segundo Rotary
Club, El Segundo Masonic Lodge and their
projects. The Recreation and Parks Department
extends a sincere thank you to everyone
involved in this great event and hope to scare
you there! For sponsorship opportunities, contact
sgreen@elsegundo.org.
If you would like more information or directions
to the event, please contact the Recreation
& Parks Department at (310) 524-2700 or visit
our website at www.elsegundo.org.
– Source: El Segundo Recreation & Parks •
By James Carver,
El Segundo Fire Department
Fire Prevention Week is here. Oct. 6-12 is
Fire Prevention Week. The theme this year
is “Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and
Practice Your Escape!™”. Home fires killed
2,630 people in the United States in 2017,
according to the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA). Annual fire loss data from
NFPA has again shown that working smoke
alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home
fires in half --- and in 2017, cooking is the
leading cause of home fires, with Thanksgiving
the leading day for fires involving cooking
equipment. Kitchens are not the only areas a
fire can happen in your house. You need to be
fire-safe. Some fire safety practices include:
• If you leave the kitchen for even a short
period of time while you are frying, grilling
or broiling food, you should turn off the stove.
Wherever possible, do not leave the kitchen
when cooking.
• Use the back stove burners when children
are present.
• Keep anything that can catch fire away
from your stovetop.
• Install smoke alarms in every sleeping
room, outside each separate sleeping area and
on every level of the home.
• Create a home fire escape plan with your
family. Draw a map of each level of the house,
showing all doors and windows. Go through
the house with each family member and look
at all windows and doors, and talk about how
you could get out of the house through the
windows and doors. Set up a meeting place
outside, away from the house where everyone
can meet after exiting.
• Practice the home fire escape plan twice
a year, once during the day and at night, so
you and your family are more prepared and
will therefore be more likely to survive a fire.
• If you use candles, always make sure they
are out when leaving a room and keep candles
on a non-combustible (glass or metal) base.
• Remember, all heaters need space. If you
use a portable heater, keep a 3-foot “kid-free
zone” around open fires and space heaters.
• Don’t use extension cords as permanent
wiring. Use only approved surge suppressors
for appliances and home entertainment/computer
equipment.
Again this year, the Fire Department and
El Segundo Rotary are sponsoring the Fire
Prevention Week Poster Contest. Students from
the third, fourth and fifth grades participate by
drawing a poster involving the Fire Prevention
Week theme. Poster contest winners from each
grade will be honored at the Rotary luncheon
on Thursday, Oct. 10. •
See Calendar of Events, page 10
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