Hawthorne Press Tribune The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - December 15, 2016 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................2 Classifieds............................3 Community Briefs...............2 Finance..................................6 Food.......................................5 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Legals................................ 6-7 Pets........................................8 Police Reports.....................3 Sports....................................4 Weekend Forecast Friday Rainy 61˚/45˚ Saturday Sunny 58˚/44˚ Sunday Sunny 60˚/47˚ Santa Fly-In at LAX Brings Holiday Cheer to Local Elementary Kids Santa Claus flew to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for a pre-holiday visit by helicopter last weekend to spread holiday cheer to nearly 350 pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students from eight local schools, including several from Hawthorne, Inglewood and Wiseburn. The annual LAX Santa Fly-in festivities were held airside of the LAX Flight Path Learning Center & Museum. Photo by Ken Phan City Council Addresses Legalized Marijuana, City Issues in New Year By Derrick Deane Mayor Alex Vargas followed in agreement In its only meeting of the month on with Reyes English, noting that the Council December 13, the Hawthorne City Council needed more information on potential impacts turned its attention to major issues to be before moving forward with a policy. “We discussed in 2017. Topics ranged from how need to find out what it’s telling us to do, the City of Hawthorne plans to address the what we don’t have to do,” he said. “I have recent legalization of marijuana to code concerns because sometimes what the state or enforcement and the ongoing concerns special interests asks us to do or proposes are about parking. not necessarily a benefit to society.” Vargas The Council, led by a request from Mayor added that former mayor Chris Brown is Pro Tem Angie Reyes English, will look at now “in the business of weed cultivation.” neighboring South Bay cities to see how those are dealing with the upcoming legalization of marijuana before Hawthorne moves forward on the matter. “There’s been a lot of emails to all of us and some time ago when we brought up this item and brought it to a vote, there were some concerns having to do with medical purposes and making that be an easy In his closing statement, Vargas mentioned process in coming through for delivery to a few other code enforcement issues that he patients especially that can’t drive,” Reyes would like to see the City address in the English said. “How are we going to at some upcoming year, specifically between 130th point provide language somewhere to address Street and 135th Street and Hawthorne those concerns?” Boulevard. “We need to start getting control Reyes English agreed that more information over that,” he said. “I know that there’s an would be needed from local cities that “have issue with people who are transients or a similar predicament” before distinct and homeless--but the thing is we’re trying to be specific language could be drafted to amend benevolent, but our obligation is to the residents the City ordinance. “We’re not trying to of Hawthorne. We have people who invested hinder anything,” she said. “I’m trying to in Hawthorne, bought property, rented and be sensitive to the needs of those that are chose to live in Hawthorne…and Hawthorne medically challenged and are in need of it isn’t going to be the place that people go just for medical purposes. That’s my concern. I to camp out wherever they want.” think it’s important that we all collaborate Vargas tempered his straightforward and make efforts to address those similarities comment by adding, “Sometimes the people and provide language in hopes of coming to that are out are people who refuse assistance. a compromise and drafting a policy.” That’s the bottom line.” The Mayor also wanted the City to address littering and weed abatement. “We need to look at our code enforcement for the next year and see what our policies are and maybe we have to go around with a little bit of a heavier hand,” Vargas said. “Hawthorne is changing successfully in the right direction. We’ve been able to start the turnaround with the different projects that we have in the city, but in the meantime we need to look at good intermediate development that we can have that can bring in sales tax and money and turn the situation around economically sooner than later.” Following concerns raised by a resident earlier in the meeting, Vargas stated that he wanted the City to actively investigate parking along the southern section of Hawthorne Boulevard from around 138th Street to Rosecrans Boulevard. Businesses in that area appear to have seen a drop in revenue due to lack of parking for customers. “I’d like for us to actively review the use of parking on the southern part of Hawthorne Boulevard and to find out if the uses are appropriate--and if not, I would like for them to be addressed and shut down,” he said. “We have to have some control over what happens in our city. We can’t let things like this go on and turn a blind eye to things.” Vargas closed the meeting by praising the other Council members for working together to push Hawthorne back on the road to recovery. “I want to congratulate every single one of my Council colleagues for working together. We might disagree sometimes, but in the end we come to the compromises needed to move the city along,” the Mayor said. • “We have people who invested in Hawthorne, bought property, rented and chose to live in Hawthorne…”
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