Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 1, No. 9 - October 31, 2019
Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............2
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................7
Classifieds............................2
Entertainment......................2
Hawthorne............................3
Lawndale..............................4
Inglewood.............................5
Legals.................................4,6
Pets........................................7
Real Estate...........................8
Weekend
Forecast
Blue Strikers Achieve Perfection
The Blue Strikers of AYSO Region 21, Hawthorne Boys U-14 received special recognition at the last Hawthorne City Council meeting for going 33-0 en route to the Western States Championship. Photo:
City of Hawthorne
Hawthorne City Council Discusses
Possible Firework Stand Decrease
By Brian Simon
During its most recent meeting, the Hawthorne
City Council discussed the future of
fireworks stands in town and indicated changes
may be on the way. Councilmember Alex
Monteiro suggested decreasing the number
of slots from the currently allotted eight
down to six in order to help the nonprofits
running the booths make more money. While
three veterans groups are “grandfathered in,”
other organizations have gone through a
lottery process to determine which five get
to run the remaining stands. But Monteiro
indicated that most of the groups are barely
making a dime due to a variety of factors
(e.g. poor location, amount they must pay the
fireworks companies) and by competing with
each other for business. He recommended
holding a public hearing next month for local
citizens to weigh in and essentially make the
decision for the Council.
Mayor Alex Vargas agreed to the hearing,
but was skeptical about his colleague’s analysis
of the situation. He noted that the initial
reason for the lottery was the high number
of interested organizations, but pointed out
major attrition in recent years. It was noted
that only five groups applied last year, so technically
a lottery wasn’t even needed. Vargas
wondered if reducing the number of stands
would necessarily mean more profits for the
participants. He also expressed concern about
the dilemma of selecting two nonprofits to
“kick into the street” by decreasing the slots
and thus guaranteeing they make no money
at all. The mayor additionally broached the
subject of doing away with the fireworks
stands altogether, which Mayor Pro Tem
Olivia Valentine later said she had thought
about as well.
Valentine also wasn’t sure that fewer slots
would lead to more revenue. “Maybe it’s
where they’re located or a function of other
things,” she said. “People aren’t buying as
many. People aren’t working as hard to
increase revenues.” Valentine suggested a
study to look into the particulars.
Councilmember Mike Talleda, who has
helped man a booth for wounded veterans,
noted that some locations “are just terrible.”
He reported that his stand does well since
patrons will go there specifically and that his
crew is on top of the situation. “We really
work hard. We open early. We close late.
We’re always there,” he said. Vargas added
that he would like to see representatives from
nonprofits that have not been chosen the last
few years to attend the public hearing and
weigh in on the matter.
Also during the meeting, representatives
from Los Angeles World Airports provided
an overview of the new LAX-it program
that kicked off this week. The new system
removes curbside pick-up for taxis and rideshare
companies (Uber, Lyft, Opoli) at LAX
and reroutes those vehicles to one centralized
pick-up lot at Terminal 1 next to Southwest
Airlines. Arriving passengers have the option
to walk to the lot or take a shuttle (a new
green bus) with the time periods to get to
the lot 3-19 minutes if by foot or 7-15 if by
shuttle. Regular drivers (non-rideshare or taxi)
can still pick up family members and friends
from the airport terminals, but will now do
so by stopping at the outer curbs since the
shuttles will use the inner curbs. The change
is for pick-up situations only. All vehicles
can still access any of the terminals to drop
off passengers as before.
The stated reason LAWA implemented the
revised system is to reduce traffic (which will
only get worse over time) and open up curb
space as construction continues at the airport
over the next few years and to make way for
the new automated people mover. Moving
out taxis and rideshare vehicles out of airport
pick-up will cut an estimated 15,000 vehicles
a day from the traffic flow. Meanwhile, the
new lot will also include amenities such as
restrooms, food trucks and changing stations
as well as ADA accessibility.
Oral communications featured an unusual
interaction between Valentine and resident
Marlon Saville, who said he was there to raise
awareness about the adverse health impacts
of mold. He explained he had been homeless
for a year prior to finding affordable housing
and a job in Hawthorne. While praising
the community in general, Saville noted his
“experience changed” when he reached out to
the Hawthorne Section 8 Housing Department
for help when he found black mold in his
unit and ultimately moved out. He went on
to say that he has been living on the streets
or in hotels in recent times, but that there
has been no recourse to fix the mold issue.
As Saville was leaving the podium, Valentine
called him back up and asked him a series
of questions including the names and ages
of his children, if they live with him (he said
they are listed on his lease because he has
visitation rights), if he has paid his rent (he
hasn’t since the spring), and whom he has
See City Council, page 5
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