The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 109, No. 51 - December 17, 2020
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals ......................8
Classifieds ...........................9
Coloring Contest ........10-11
Crossword/Sudoku ............9
Entertainment .....................4
Legals ................................8,9
Neighborhood Therapist ....2
Pets .....................................12
Police Reports ....................4
Real Estate. .....................5-7
Weekend
Forecast
El Segundo’s Main St. Mainstay
El Segundo Strong: (L-R) Tavern Co-owner Kristian Krieger, long-time employee Maggie Fogarty and general manager Xavier Flamenco. A highly respected resident and business owner, Kristian Krieger
is profiled this week. For story, see yellow box below.
Restaurateur Krieger Tries to Keep
His Bars Afloat in the Hospitality Game
By Duane Plank
Kristian Krieger, the co-owner of El
Segundo Main St. establishments the
Tavern on Main and Brewport Tap House,
had spent a few hours prior to our phone
interview completing his application for
a financial grant from the County of Los
Angeles, hoping to receive government
funding to augment his efforts to stay in
business through the “Keep LA Dining”
program.
The recent shutdown of bars and restaurants
in L.A. County, again, has not been
all that appreciated by business owners,
who are being driven out of business
after some of them spent precious dollars
to adhere to the new outside dining
protocols that were just rescinded. Or by
the restaurant and bar employees who
have been jettisoned, again, and await
the receipt of their unemployment money.
Wandering around town on my daily
stroll, I took note of a whiteboard post on
a now-shuttered Richmond St. bar with a
spacious “Patio” in the back, which may
have summed up the feelings of many
in the California hospitality industry.
Scribbled in large letters on the board:
“Closed.” Underneath the closed notation,
in much smaller letters, were management’s
Holiday greetings to a couple of California
politicians. “(Expletive) you, Newsom/
Garcetti.” You can use your imagination
to discern what the “expletive” was.
While hoping to receive the L.A. County
See Krieger, page 7
Friday
Sunny
66˚/47˚
Saturday
Sunny
67˚/48˚
Sunday
Sunny
71˚/48˚
Wastewater Treatment Charges Soar,
Council Seeking Answers from L.A.
By Rob McCarthy
The Hyperion plant has nearly doubled
its charges for wastewater treatment, and El
Segundo city officials on Tuesday sought an
explanation for the steep run-up in service
costs. El Segundo’s water rates are due to
expire soon, which prompted the inquiry into
why the city of Los Angeles has boosted the
price for accepting El Segundo’s wastewater.
The Hyperion has raised its rate by 91 percent
since 2017, according to research by the
city’s consultant. The escalating charge means
the city is paying $24 more per household
now for water treatment. A Los Angeles city
representative who was available to answer
questions told the council that capital costs
at the nearby plant that benefit El Segundo
drive up the charges.
When pressed for specifics by Councilman
Lance Giroux, Dale Burgoyne with the city
of Los Angeles said, “I can’t tell you what
the 91 percent covers.” Burgoyne, a senior
environmental engineer with Los Angeles,
said the 91 percent figure was news to him,
and he didn’t know the increase took place
between 2017 and 2021.
Giroux asked the Los Angeles city representative
to look into El Segundo officials’
questions and concerns. Those specifics
about the Hyperion’s operations and any
improvements will help explain to El Segundo
ratepayers the proposal on the table Tuesday
night that the city wastewater-treatment bills
by nine percent annually through 2025 to
offset the Hyperion’s charges. A smaller
water-rate hike also is part of the proposal.
“If there’s something you can do at some
point in time to line-item that, it would be
very helpful for us,” Giroux said, asking for
names of capital projects the Hyperion has
undertaken. That information would inform
El Segundo customers about the need to
charge them more for wastewater handling,
starting in April.
Public Works Director Elias Sasson, in
response to a question from Mayor Drew
Boyles, said Los Angeles city officials attributed
their higher price for service to capital
projects, more environmental regulations,
and treatment for new effluents that turned
up in the discharge from El Segundo homes
and businesses on the west side.
The charges for a single-family residence
on April 1 would increase to $39.07, under
the recommended rate for 2021. It would
increase to $42.60 for 2022, then grow yearly
through 2025 when a household would pay
$55.95 for wastewater service. Those rates
also would apply to multi-family units and
institutional customers on the west side.
Commercial and industrial customers will
pay $20-$25 more if the council approves.
Hyperion charges to El Segundo are based
on the estimated intake of wastewater, and
city officials dispute that Los Angeles is
See City Council, page 4