Hawthorne Press Tribune
Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - July 26, 2018
Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............3
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................7
Classifieds............................3
Entertainment......................2
Food.......................................5
Hawthorne Happenings....3
Lawndale..............................4
Legals............................. 4,6,7
Pets........................................8
Weekend
Forecast
St. Joseph’s Hosts Notre Dame
Hawthorne’s Saint Joseph’s School was proud to host the University of Notre Dame’s Los Angeles Alumni Club and the annual new student sendoff last week. Over 30 new freshman at Notre Dame from
across LA came together in Saint Joseph’s courtyard to ready themselves for the next four years. Photo: SJS.
City Council Approves Five-Year
Plan to Address Homelessness
By Derrick Deane
The Hawthorne City Council approved a
five-year plan to tackle homelessness in the
community during another brief, hour-long
meeting last Tuesday evening. In addition to
addressing homelessness in general, the plan
has a number of benefits including no fiscal
impact to the general fund. It also starts off
with $30,000 in Los Angeles County/Measure
H grant funding. The plan will continue to
be implemented as funding from Measure
H becomes available.
Mayor Alex Vargas was quick to note that
the initial start may be a positive step, but
there is still a long was to go and asked that
the community to be compassionate. “The
$30,000 grant that we got is just a very
simple, humble small amount,” he said. “It’s
not even enough to be able to really address
the issue. If our City staff could look into
getting more grants because the issue is growing.
Campaign to Simplify Voting is
Going Strong in the South Bay
By Rob McCarthy
If voting is such a privilege, why did
so many registered residents skip the June
primary? The absentee rate hovered near 75
percent in some South Bay communities.
El Segundo had a modest turnout -- 39
percent -- for a primary election with no
local school bond issues to decide. Still, 61
percent of El Segundo citizens who were
eligible to cast ballots remained silent about
the finalists in the fall for Governor, the State
Assembly and Senate, and the Congress.
In Inglewood, Hawthorne and Lawndale,
citizens had school bond measures to decide
that affect homeowners’ tax bills and the
quality of public education. The turnout
in those communities was 25 percent or
less, despite the kind of pocketbook issues
that drive interest and participation
on Election Day.
So, why did so many people forgo their
right to weigh in on these important questions?
Knowing that property values are
connected to school test scores, Hawthorne
residents had money riding on the outcome
on June 5. So did voters in Lawndale,
where 42 took the time to vote. Inglewood
decided a city charter amendment about
local elections.
Los Angeles’ County officials have studied
voter turnout for almost a decade and
think they understand why the majority of
eligible voters aren’t engaged in summer
See Voting, page 5
People can’t buy a house, let alone rent
either. There are a lot of different factors and
the involuntary homeless group is rising and
we need to take action and be supportive.”
The City of Hawthorne was selected along
with 46 other municipalities across L.A. County
to be a part of the grant program created by
the County and the United Way of Greater
Los Angeles’ Home for Good Funders Collaborative
to confront rising homelessness
in their communities. The program launched
earlier this month and each of the 46 cities
received a planning grant ranging from
$30,000 to $70,000 depending on the number
of homeless families and individuals within
their municipal boundaries.
“Some of you may be concerned with the
homeless population we have here, but it’s
happening all over L.A. County,” Vargas said.
“There are people who voluntarily want to stay
out and it’s unfortunate and we still have to
do something for them. But there is another
rising group -- those who are involuntarily
homeless. Hawthorne is not the only place
where the rent is increasing. Home prices are
increasing astronomically. We’re not the only
city. Every single city around us throughout
L.A. County, it’s the same deal.”
The City of Hawthorne Five-Year Plan
outlines eight specific goals with short- and
long-term actions. The first two look to reduce
both the incidents of homelessness and periods
of homelessness for individuals. The plan will
also look to assist the homeless to return to
self-sufficiency; improve access to services
and housing; strive to make homelessness rare,
brief and non-recurring; and help to expand an
inventory of affordable housing in the region
that is available for homeless populations.
“Maybe at some point in time, things are
going to turn around for everyone,” Vargas
Friday See City Council, page 5
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