EL SEGUNDO HERALD December 26, 2019 Page 3
Police Reports
Monday, December 16
One male adult was arrested at 0014 hours
from Rosecrans Avenue and Village Drive for
possession of drug paraphernalia.
A missing person report was taken at 0106
hours from the 300 block of Main Street. A
female adult was reported missing.
One male adult was arrested at 0216 hours
from the 800 block of East Grand Avenue
for misdemeanor DUI.
A found property report was taken at 1149
hours from the 1800 block of East Holly
Avenue. Found was a purse.
One male adult was arrested at 1647 hours
from the 800 block of South Douglas Street
for suspicion of burglary (residential), possession
of nunchakus, possession of stolen
property, and one Redondo Beach felony
warrant.
A petty theft report was taken at 1750
hours from the 900 block of Camber Lane.
Taken was a FedEx package.
A misdemeanor hit and run report was
taken at 1843 hours from Virginia Street
and Mariposa Avenue, vehicle versus parked
vehicle.
A burglary (vehicle) report was taken at
1919 hours from the 700 block of Bungalow
Drive. Unknown suspect(s) stole property
from the victim’s vehicle.
A stolen vehicle was recovered at 2241
hours from the 700 block of East Grand
Avenue. Recovered was 2018 U-Haul truck.
Tuesday, December 17
A male adult was detained at 0240 hours
from the 400 block of South Pacific Coast
Highway and transported to Exodus Treatment
Center for a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation.
A burglary (vehicle) report was taken at
0407 hours from the 1400 block of East Elm
Avenue. Unknown suspect(s) stole property
from the victim’s vehicle.
One male adult was arrested at 1821 hours
from the 100 block of Illinois Street for receiving
stolen property and two outstanding
misdemeanor warrants.
A battery report was taken at 2020 hours
from the 400 block of Main Street. The suspect
broke a walking stick on the victim’s head.
A misdemeanor hit and run report was
taken at 2134 hours from 760 South Pacific
Coast Highway, vehicle versus parked vehicle.
Wednesday, December 18
One male adult was arrested at 0003 hours
from 135th Street and Aviation Boulevard for
identity theft, battery on a peace officer and
possession of a controlled substance.
A traffic accident (no injuries) occurred at
0750 hours from the 200 block of East El
Segundo Boulevard, vehicle versus vehicle.
A traffic accident (no injuries) occurred
at 1053 hours from the 500 block of Main
Street, vehicle versus vehicle.
A found property report was taken at
1314 hours from the 300 block of Richmond
Street. Found were drugs that were booked
for destruction.
A burglary (residential) report was taken at
1536 hours from the 900 block of Hillcrest
Street. Unknown suspect(s) broke into the
victim’s residence and stole her property.
A misdemeanor hit and run report was
taken at 1843 hours from Center Street and
Acacia Avenue, vehicle versus vehicle.
Thursday, December 19
A traffic accident (with injuries) occurred
at 0440 hours on Aviation Boulevard and
Rosecrans Avenue, vehicle versus vehicle.
A petty theft report was taken at 0948
hours from the 800 block of Main Street.
Taken was a catalytic converter.
One male adult was arrested at 1517 hours
from 12000 block of Hawthorne Boulevard
for identity theft.
A petty theft report was taken at 1522
hours from the 800 block of East Imperial
Avenue. Unknown suspect(s) stole the victim’s
skateboard.
A petty theft report was taken at 1522 hours
from the 900 block of Eucalyptus Drive.
Taken was a catalytic converter.
A petty theft report was taken at 1924
hours from the 200 block of Hornet Way.
Taken were headlights from a 2015 Lexus.
A female was detained at 2355 hours
Correction
A story in the Dec. 19 Herald contained
incorrect information about new speed
limits for several El Segundo streets.
The City Council approved the recommendations
of a traffic study and agreed to establish
speed limits for the first time on sections
of Apollo Street, Atwood Way, Park Place,
Selby Street and Walnut Avenue. All of the
roadways are located east of Pacific Coast
Highway. •
Burkley Brandlin
Swatik & Keesey LLP
AT T O R N E Y S AT L AW
Lifetime El Segundo Residents
Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury
Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litigation
310-540-6000
*AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization
Wishing You A Happy And Safe Holiday Season
Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.
from HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Wishing you and yours a JOYOUS HOLIDAY SEASON
full of LOVE AND HEALTH and a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Parish Open House and
Russian Christmas Concert
at one of the South Bay’s most unique Churches
Sunday, December 29, 2019
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Saint andrew ruSSian Greek-CatholiC ChurCh
The St. Andrew community invites you to join them for this year’s Russian Christmas concert
in the historic little church, one of only four Russian Catholic parishes in North America.
The afternoon will include a briefing on the church’s Byzantine heritage and history and a
chance to mingle with parishioners and fellow El Segundans over Russian tea and desserts.
538 ConCord Street, el SeGundo, Ca 90245
For more information, please visit the parish website at: www.standrewelsegundo.org.
Poinsettias Came a Long Way
to Become a Floral Tradition
By Rob McCarthy
This is the story of the Christmas poinsettia,
which came a long way from growing wild
in Mexico before an American botanist and
U.S. ambassador changed all that forever.
The beautiful red poinsettia now associated
with Christmas even has its own holiday.
December 12 was National Poinsettia
Day in honor of Joel Roberts Poinsett, an
American botanist, physician and a minister
to Mexico. In 1828, he was dazzled by the
beauty of the crimson red flowering plants
that grew wild on the hillsides in Southern
Mexico. So, he sent cuttings of the plant
to his home in Charleston, South Carolina.
Poinsett died on this day in 1851, and the
U.S. Congress honored him for his contribution
to Christmas and the American floral
industry. While Poinsett introduced the potted
flower to the States, California botanist and
plant breeder Paul Ecke, Jr. is considered the
father of the poinsettia because he developed
breeding techniques that allowed greenhouse
growers to produce millions of poinsettias
here and around the world.
Poinsettias are not only the number oneselling
floral product at Christmas. No other
flower or flowering plant is bought more by
consumers in the United and Canada. A common
misconception about poinsettias is that
the colorful, pointed leaves are the flowers.
The flowers are the yellow clustered buds
in the center, while the colored leafy parts
are actually modified leaves that turn vivid
colors depending on how much sunlight
they receive.
Each poinsettia plant starts as an unrooted
cutting, which greenhouses receiving the
starter plants during the summer. Though the
plant gets its start during the longest days
of the year, it needs total darkness up to 16
hours each day to be ready to burst onto the
scene in late November and early December.
Even the faintest amount of light during the
night will result in a duller color.
Worldwide, growers of poinsettias know
the Ecke family name. An immigrant from
Germany in 1906, Albert Ecke settled in the
Hollywood area. His family grew its own fruits
and vegetables, but within a few years was
selling cut poinsettias at a stand on Sunset
Boulevard. That was 1909 when poinsettias
grew wild in that area of Southern California.
Ecke and his son Paul “had the idea that
the ruby flowers would sell well around
Christmas,” according to a history found at
the web site, poinsettiaday.com. The Eckes
scraped together some money to buy five
acres in El Monte and expanded the family
business. The business grew, and by 1917 the
Hollywood-grown nursery plants were being
shipped to Chicago and New York. Soon
after, success led to some major changes.
Development pressures in Hollywood in the
early 1920s pushed the poinsettia growers to
look elsewhere for land and opportunity. The
Ecke family bought 40 acres in Encinitas,
along what today is the I-5, and their first
year was a complete disaster. Santa Ana winds
tore through the fields of red flowering plants
and ruined Christmas in 1923.
But, the family business bounced back. The
production moved indoors to greenhouses
in the mid-1950s at the suggestion of the
founder’s grandson, Paul Jr., who learned
about modern horticulture techniques at Ohio
State University. Not only was he a grower,
but the young Ecke was an early adopter of
product placement. By getting his family’s
crimson plants in front of a national audience,
television viewers who tuned in for
Bob Hope’s annual Christmas specials came
to associate poinsettias with Christmas cheer.
How the Eckes grew poinsettias was a
family secret until 1991, when a botany
See Poinsettias, page 7
See Police Reports, page 9