The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 105, No. 53 - December 22, 2016 Inside This Issue Best of the Best..................2 Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................14 Classifieds............................4 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Entertainment......................6 Legals............................ 12,13 Pets......................................15 Police Reports.....................3 Real Estate.......................7-9 Sports....................................5 Weekend Forecast SoCal Honda Dealers Bring Random Acts of Helpfulness to El Segundo On Sunday, December 11, the famous Helpful Honda Team stopped at the Bay Club El Segundo for a Gingerbread House Building Event with Walk With Sally. The Guys in Blue surprised the children of Walk With Sally with gingerbread house building kits and treats in hopes of spreading some holiday cheer. Photos Courtesy of Southern California Honda Dealers. For more photos see Helpfulness on page 2. The Guilt-Free Secret About Gift Cards By Rob McCarthy I was thinking about gift cards for everybody on my list this year anyway because December 25 is four days away and I haven’t started my Christmas shopping. But an email about a UCLA research project sealed the deal. There’s no reason to feel embarrassed about grabbing a handful of gift cards off the cash register rack because you’re short on time, according to Professor Cassie Mogilner Holmes. Those cards have an unexpected and beneficial effect on relationships. Holmes, who’s considered an authority on consumer happiness, reports that a palm-sized gift card provides an experience that is more deeply felt than the traditional gifts that come wrapped with a shiny bow on top. “What we found was that the recipient feels more connected to you as the gift-giver after receiving an experiential gift rather than a material one,” she said in a guilt-free UCLA press release. The announcement was perfectly timed as South Bay residents hit the stores for the final countdown to Christmas. The chances of finding the right size, color or style at South Bay stores get slimmer over the next 72 hours. Locally-owned businesses and boutiques offer a variety not found at larger national retailers, and the mom and pops are closer to home than See Gift Cards, page 10 Friday PM Showers 62˚/53˚ Saturday Mostly Sunny 56˚/46˚ Sunday Sunny 55˚/46˚ City Council Gets Good News with Lower Aquatics Center Cost By Brian Simon On Tuesday night, the El Segundo City Council members (with Don Brann absent) were pleased to learn that the cost for the new Aquatics Center at Wiseburn High School will be less than previously thought. After seeing the overall price tag swell to $14.5 million in September, the Council soon afterward set the budget at $13.8 million—with the City kicking in the maximum $1.8 million from its aquatics fund and then commitments of $6 million each from Wiseburn Unified School District and the non-profit South Bay Sports, Health & Wellness (spearheaded by Continental Development Corporation President Richard Lundquist) to cover the rest. But in Tuesday’s budget update, consultant Stu Isaac (Isaac Sports Group) revealed a revised project estimate of $12.5 million that he believes should hold up—though it will still require some further line item analysis over the next couple of weeks. The ability to reduce the total became clear as construction bids filtered in this month, he explained. Costs dropped from the $14.5 million level by eliminating some components from the project not deemed critical—removing two diving boards, repurposing the concession stand to a storage room, doing away with a UV system in the teaching pool, and modifying the bleachers. Additional savings came as contractor costs penciled in lower than expected. Isaac also noted that contingencies built into the price were able to safely drop from 10 percent to six percent. Meanwhile, direct-purchasing certain items (e.g. scoreboard, timer) will reduce expenditures by avoiding contractor mark-ups. A final breakdown of the whole package will be available in early January. The Wiseburn School Board is set to award the bid on January 26 with construction beginning in February, followed by a “realistic” 13-month timeline and target opening date of March 2018. The $12.5 million includes pulling out $300,000 for a previously included cogeneration (combined heat and power) unit to provide electricity. The Council opted to scrap that option on Tuesday after learning that it would not be cheaper than Edison power and that even a smaller system would take up to 15 years to break even. While Wiseburn expressed a preference to use solar power for its site, it plans to wait 12-18 months to see what its real energy usage will be before moving forward. The Council agreed with this approach. Isaac mentioned that co-generation See City Council, page 12
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