The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 109, No. 42 - October 22, 2020
Inside
This Issue
ABC Doc...............................3
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................10
Classifieds............................7
Crossword/Sudoku.............7
Election 2020.....................3,9
Entertainment......................4
Legals....................................8
Pets......................................11
Police Reports.....................4
Real Estate.......................5-6
Weekend
Forecast
Local Business Shows Support
for the Pink Patch Project
Thank you Smoky Hollow Baking Co. for donating to the Pink Patch Project and providing amazing pink cupcakes. You sure know the way to our police officer’s hearts. The Pink Patch Project was started
as a collaborative effort between the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs’ Association and several public safety agencies throughout the nation. These agencies have partnered together to combat breast
cancer by raising public awareness and to raise funds for breast cancer research and treatment. Photo courtesy El Segundo Police Department.
El Segundo Rotary President Smith
Guides the Nonprofit Through COVID-19
By Duane Plank
El Segundo resident Valerie Smith,
mother of the current mayor of our fine
city, Drew Boyles, and the El Segundo
Rotary Club president has led an eclectic
life. Raised in Winnetka, Illinois, just
north of Chicago, she had worked for
the Brunswick Bowling Corporation for
more than a quarter-century, as well as
selling real estate in Atlanta, Georgia, for
nearly two decades.
She is a little more than three months into
her tenure as the Rotary Club president.
The Rotary International franchise, which
has been around for longer than a century,
and boasts more than 1.2 million members
and 35,000+ clubs, is currently focusing
on fundraising efforts to help eradicate
the scourge of polio, with October 24th
christened as “World Polio Day.”
Smith moved to El Segundo in 2014 and
currently lives in the affordable confines
of Park Vista, which is a stone’s throw
from the Little League baseball diamond
at Rec Park.
After growing up in Winnetka, she
eventually garnered a Liberal Arts degree
from Chicago’s DePaul University. “Winnetka
was a great place to grow up,” she
said. “I went to a fabulous high school.
I was very involved in musical productions,
opera productions, singing with
groups in the school, dancing, and won
the election for President of the Girl’s
Club,” which foreshadowed her leadership
See President Smith, page 12
Friday
Mostly
Cloudy
71˚/61˚
Saturday
AM Clouds/
PM Sun
68˚/60˚
Sunday
AM Showers
65˚/55˚
ESPD to Try Hawthorne Jail
as Cost-Cutting Measure
By Rob McCarthy
People arrested in El Segundo will be
booked in Hawthorne jail starting next month
as part of a cost-cutting trial, Police Chief Bill
Whalen said Tuesday. The exclusive use of
the neighboring city’s jail and staff expands
on an arrangement the cities struck a year
ago, mostly for weekend jail coverage. The
limited, full-time use of Hawthorne’s jail will
last for five months, and it could become long
term if both cities like the results.
That jail contract for El Segundo Police
originated because of vacant positions within
the department. Unfilled jail positions at
ESPD will cover the additional cost to use
Hawthorne’s facility, under a modified contract
the City Council approved Tuesday. El
Segundo will pay $12,000 for the Hawthorne
Police Department to process, hold and feed
an estimated 40 people per month who are
transported to jail by El Segundo officers.
Chief Whalen said while it might seem out
of the way, the Hawthorne holding facility
is closer to Nash Street on the east side for
his officers who detain and arrest suspects.
Hawthorne charges El Segundo $300 for
every person booked and held.
Councilman Scot Nicol wondered if the
expanded use of Hawthorne jail signaled a
step by the El Segundo Police Department
to close its jail and “get that off our budget.”
Whalen replied that using the Hawthorne jail
full time is a possibility. However, other options
could be presented to the council when
the issue is revisited in spring.
Once upon a time, celebrity Zsa Zsa Gabor
spent a memorable weekend in the El Segundo
Police Department jail, serving a short sentence
for slapping a Beverly Hills police officer
during a traffic stop. The former Hungarian
beauty queen in 1990 chose El Segundo
instead of allowing Los Angeles County
officials to pick a jail for her minimum stay.
Upon leaving, Gabor told reporters the staff
See City Council, page 10