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Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 2, No. 27 - July 2, 2020
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................11
Classifieds............................2
Entertainment......................2
Hawthorne............................3
Huber’s Hiccups..................3
Lawndale..............................4
Inglewood.............................5
Legals............................. 6,8,9
Pets......................................12
Real Estate...................10-11
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Sunny
71˚/60˚
Saturday
Sunny
72˚/63˚
Sunday
Sunny
76˚/64˚
South Bay Businesses Look Out
for Our Healthcare Workers
NORMS Restaurant Inglewood team partnered with NewMark Merrill Companies for their Waves of Kindness initiative. They provide 185 meals to the physicians and nurses at Centinela Hospital Medical
Center. Photo courtesy Centinela Hospital Medical Center.
Census Count Builds Momentum
By Rob McCarthy
The once-per-decade count of people
living in American households reached the
midway point this week, and it appears at
least three South Bay cities are headed for
an undercount. The census-response rates for
Inglewood, Hawthorne and Lawndale were
slightly below the statewide and national
averages, as of Sunday.
Census results are used to determine how
much funding local communities receive for
social services, including public health and
housing. An undercount can be costly to local
governments because of federal agencies’
base funding on population and income data.
The 2020 count will be used to allocate
seats in Congress - and it’s a possibility California
could lose a congressional seat. The
household surveys also serve as a snapshot
for drawing boundaries for congressional and
state legislative districts, along with school
districts. The pandemic added to the herculean
task of counting everyone.
The U.S. Census Bureau, in March, mailed
surveys to every home across the South Bay,
asking how many people lived with them on
April 1. The information about each individual,
including their gender and nationality, is kept
private and not shared with law enforcement
or federal immigration authorities, the Census
Bureau assures residents. And, the 2020
survey will not ask for a person’s citizenship
or immigration status.
The coronavirus put the census campaign
three months behind when the governor and
Los Angeles County health officer ordered
all non-essential workers to stay home. As
a result, the census campaign was given
an extension until October 31 to finish the
2020 count. Despite the social-distancing
restrictions, this census has technology on
its side.
The 2020 census allows for online responses,
which appears to be a popular feature. Even
in cities with lower-than-average responses,
a majority of residents have answered the
10-minute survey using the Census Bureau’s
web site. (For the security of households, a
Census ID number was printed on the March
mailing to U.S. households. That ID number
is handy when logging on to the Census
Bureau web site.)
For example, Hawthorne has a 58.8 percent
response rate to the 2020 Census, as of Sunday.
How many of those households skipped
the mail and used the web? A very high 51.4
percent of all completed surveys were done
electronically, according to the bureau.
Inglewood had the lowest response to date
to start the July 4th week, with 56.6 percent
of households reporting their occupancy
numbers and relationship information. Almost
75 percent of the city’s census forms were
submitted online. The numbers for Lawndale
were 60.6 percent answering the census - 87
percent done online.
Los Angeles County as a whole, isn’t doing
much better. With a 57.9 percent response,
census field workers will be knocking on
doors starting in mid-August at addresses
that haven’t replied either online, by phone
or mail by then, according to spokeswoman
Patricia Ramos for the census tracts in the
South Bay.
Responses are accepted by phone or return
mail, too; however, the online feature
is popular so far. According to Ramos, El
Segundo residents by July 4 could surpass
the response numbers from the 2010 Census.
As of Sunday, El Segundo had a 65.2
percent return rate using the Internet, and a
71 percent response.
Culver City and Carson are in the upper
echelon of California cities showing high
enthusiasm for what some people consider an
intrusion by the federal government on their
privacy. Still, two-thirds of the households
in El Segundo, Culver City, and Carson
finished the survey without a census field
worker’s visit. Phone calls from the bureau
are occasionally needed to clarify answers
on a returned survey.
Gardena and Manhattan Beach were
middle-of-the-pack among South Bay cities.
With 64 percent of households answering the
questionnaire as of Sunday.
However, the census will never ask for a
Social Security number, bank accounts or
credit cards. A U.S. Census employee won’t
ask for a donation or anything for a political
party either, according to the bureau. There
are criminals and identity thieves who will
try to use the census-collection period to
fool people into handing over money and
personal information - so beware. Ask for
their names and some photo identification.
Some people don’t have a mailing address,
and finding them and leaving a census
questionnaire is the first task. According to
Ramos, field workers with the U.S. Census
have been out in communities since May
25, dropping off census forms. They won’t
start knocking on doors until mid-August -
so again, be wary of anyone who shows up
before then claiming to be working for the
2020 count.
Call 844-330-2020 to speak with a Census
Bureau representative if you have suspicions
that someone is impersonating a field worker.
See Census Count, page 5