EL SEGUNDO HERALD October 7, 2021 Page 15
Mojo Jojo
the cats and kittens we have up for adoption
from our network of foster homes and from
the Sanctuary. At the end of each cat’s profile
is a link to the email address of the foster
parent or adoption counselor, and you may
reach out directly with questions or to arrange
a virtual meeting.
Saving one animal won’t change the world, but
the world will surely change for that animal. •
Featured Pets of the Week
was provided with physical therapy and stimulation
to try to get him to sit, crawl or even
walk. He became fast friends with one of our
nursery residents, Cupid, who helped so much
with his physical therapy, that one day Mojo
decided he was done with laying around and
started walking, much to the surprise, shock
and delight of all of his caregivers. He loves
to snuggle, wrestle, and play with his BFF,
Cupid, so we would love to see these two
boys get adopted together, especially as we
strongly believe that Cupid really helped with
Mojo’s recovery. They are a purr-fect pairing.
Steve is the definition of a gentle giant; his
heart is as big as he is! He demands to sleep
with you at night and will knock at the door
to remind you in the unlikely event you forgot.
Steve is very sweet and will calmly ask to be
pet. This big guy is good around older children
who do not have too much energy and adults
that just want to cuddle and chill. He would
love a home with a non-dominant buddy cat,
preferably female. At our partner adoption
lounge Tail Town, Steve makes sure all the
other cats stay on their best behavior and all
the kittens put their best paw forward. Steve is
the unofficial Mayor of Tail Town and hopes
to see you real soon! Steve is FIV+, but this
does not impact him at all. Given proper care
and attention, an FIV+ cat will live the same
lifespan as an FIV negative cat. The disease
is extremely hard to transmit from cat to cat,
requiring direct blood contact (typically from
a deep puncture wound). It is not transmissible
to humans or other species.
These cats and kittens are available for adoption
through Kitten Rescue, one of the largest
cat rescue groups in Southern California. All
our kitties are spayed/neutered, microchipped,
tested for FeLV and FIV, dewormed and current
on their vaccinations. For additional information
and to see these or our other kittens and cats,
please check our website www.kittenrescue.org.
Our Adoption Center is temporarily closed.
In the meantime, we are still conducting contactless
adoptions using all the online tools at
our disposal. To virtually browse our adoptable
cats, please visit our Adoption Gallery
where you can find photos and profiles of all
Cats can live up to 20 years or more…and
very actively at that. So even a cat who is
five years old or older still has many years
ahead of them. Are you ready to take on a
20-year responsibility? If so, a kitten might
be great choice for you. If you aren’t, then
an adult cat who might be five or 10 may be
a better choice. Waiting for adoption are cats
and kittens of every age, color and personality.
When you adopt, you save a life… and in turn
enrich your own.
This sweet momma is ready for her own
home and to be a “kitten”! Atlantis was a
stray who had six kittens and is ready for the
spotlight. She loves to cuddle and get belly rubs
as she is probably grateful that she does not
have babies going for milk anymore. Atlantis
would love to be an only cat, but maybe another
independent furry friend would be nice.
She would thrive with space to run and do her
own thing. This girl is so sweet and was the
best momma, but now it is her time to find a
home; we hope it’s with you.
Brie is so lovable and sweet. She is independent
loves to play and explore. At first, she may
be timid, but will warm up quickly. Brie runs
around and will find the tiniest hiding places,
then will run out to check you out once she
hears you. Brie is a foodie and waits patiently
for her yummy kitten food. Brie and her sister,
Cheddar, love each other and it would be best
if they are adopted together.
Cheddar is extremely affectionate kitten
who loves to play and explore. She is the most
lovable kitty and purrs all the time. This little
talker will meow at you for attention, food
and some loving. Cheddar and her sister Brie
would be a great addition to your forever home!
Spring loves to play, especially when you
bring out the feathers. Like most of us in 2021,
Spring
Spring may keep her distance. Once you have
passed her arbitrary checklist of “things she
requires in a friend,” she will let you pet her.
Spring also loves sunbeams and lunchtime.
Mojo Jojo is our miracle kitty! He and his
two sisters were rescued from the city shelter
where they were about to be euthanized. Mojo’s
legs were completely stiff and he was unable to
walk at all. It was quickly realized that he has
a condition called Cerebellar Hypoplasia. We
have a lot of experience with caring for cats
with this condition, so we immediately knew
we had to rescue him. Cerebellar hypoplasia
(CH) is a neurological condition where the
brain does not develop properly; it causes cats
to be wobbly when they walk and sometimes
lose balance. In Mojo JoJo’s case, this was
severe as he was unable to walk at all. Mojo
Atlantis
Steve
Brie Cheddar
City Council from page 2
That study will address what happened, what
went wrong, and what measures should be
taken to avoid another emergency like what
happened in July, Sassoon said. Sassoon
noted that a 30-day report into the mishap
had been completed as required by law and
that he had toured Hyperion with the other
members of the board he is sitting on and
has met with Hyperon staff solo.
City council member Scot Nicol told
Sassoon that he would like the board to
look into more than just the sewage spill
into the ocean and to consider “the other
damages that happened around the plant. I
ask that because it became very apparent to
me (during the online on Zoom September
23 El Segundo Citizens Forum - Hyperion
Update) that the plant operating at ‘normal
operating procedures is not a 100 percent
true statement in my personal opinion. Do I
have the facts to prove that? Not necessarily,
but I do have the nose to prove it. And if
you can smell what’s happening in our town,
then the plant is not operating at the normal
operating procedure. And to that end, through
these investigations, I would really like to
know what is going on. I mean, because it
was more than just sewage being spilled into
the ocean. I mean, sewage flooded that entire
plant. Which then, you know, I mean, you
toured it multiple times: There were pumps
that were meant to move sewage from one
place to another in the plant that were not
functioning. There were flow heaters that
were not functioning, so they had no idea
how much flow was going from one place to
another. As much as I care about the Pacific
Ocean, I do not want to make this sound
like I do not care about the spill and why
sewage went into the ocean and what effects
are from that. Still, how this is negatively
impacting the residents of El Segundo, it’s
a quality-of-life thing. And it’s gotten to the
point where the residents of El Segundo are
concerned about what they’re breathing. And
for us to continue to get staff from Hyperion
towing the party line, which is, “The plant is
up and fully operational as normal operating
business,” when, as we saw today in an email
you sent us, AQMD got 38 calls on Saturday
(October 2) complaining about a smell, so
it’s not (a) normal operating business.”
Said Sassoon, “Right, well, so the first
part of your question, I can assure you that
the way the flooding took place, where it
shorted out the pumps and the sewage found
its way to the basement, is one of the key
things that this committee is looking at.
And already comments have been made,
and I don’t want to bore you and take time
from your city council meeting, but that is
something that the committee is looking at
very seriously. The second aspect of your
question, with respect to the number of
complaints that AQMD received, I did have
a conversation with AQMD. It appeared that
one of the scrubbers, those odor controlled
if you would, the system’s scrubber is what
is referred to, had not been functioning
properly. As a result of that, this scrubber
has not been able to, if you would, diffuse
the smell, and consequently, that created that
odor issue and that was confirmed based on
the information Hyperion submitted to me…”
which gave the “relatively high” reading for
hydrogen sulfide.
Sassoon also told the council that 1,117
reimbursement payments had been made
by the City of Los Angeles, which runs
Hyperion through its Los Angeles Sanitation
and Environment department (LASAN), to
residents for costs incurred due to the Hyperion
emergency in July, which sent people
to hotels and to purchase air conditioning
units to deal with the odor. The total amount
for reimbursements is up to $2,128,616 as
of Tuesday night, compared to $1,043,743
as of the council’s September 21 meeting.
Sassoon said 456 reimbursement requests are
missing required documents and that LASAN
has received 2,600 reimbursement requests.
That number was 2,350 as of September
21. Sasson noted a new deadline of Friday,
October 8, for reimbursement submissions.
During a “year-end financial report”, Joseph
Lillio, the city’s director of finance, told the
council that COVID-19 had caused the city’s
Transient Occupancy Tax and Utility Users
Tax categories to drop substantially, bringing
the city’s total General Fund revenue slightly
below the Fiscal Year 2015-16, whose total
was $65,338,214. Due to the pandemic and
a shorter budget time frame of nine months
as the city switches from a Federal calendar
to a municipal calendar year, the unaudited
General Fund for FY 2020-21 came in at
$61,708,699, an $11.5 million revenue loss
when compared to FY 2019-20’s $72,503,403.
The city hit its highest General Fund revenue
of $80,208,257 with FY 2018-19. The council
will hold a Revenue Study Session on Tuesday,
October 19, during the day and before that
night’s regularly scheduled council meeting.
In other news, the city council voted 5-0 to
approve a Professional Services Agreement
with Many Mansions, a California non-profit,
to provide affordable housing services at no
cost to the city. The deal, however, gives
Many Mansions the first right of refusal on
city projects, a fairly standard practice in such
agreements, according to city officials. A pilot
program with Lyft for residents 55 years old
and over and ADA passengers was delivered
via a presentation to the council and are in
place now through June 2022. Rides with
Lyft may be booked through its app or by
using the city’s existing “concierge” service
via staff at Joslyn Center. The service is free
when used in place of the city’s Dial-A-Ride
(which is no longer in service) and costs $5
for a roundtrip DR-Dial-A-Ride, which is
the same cost as previously charged. ADA
vehicles are available, as is door-to-door service
for all. There is a three-passenger limit
per ride, and rides can be scheduled seven
days in advance or on demand. •