The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood
Daily News on a Weekly Basis - Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - August 24, 2017
Rare Solar Eclipse Captures
the Fancies of Photographers
Though it didn’t fully darken the South Bay skies, Monday’s solar eclipse was still a sight to behold—provided you had safe viewing equipment. This photo of the event was taken by Herald Publications’
own Gregg McMullin.
Aircraft Noise Complaints
Soar Under New System
By Rob McCarthy
When asked how they deal with the sound of
jets arriving and departing around-the-clock at
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), area
residents will shrug and either say they don’t
hear the noise anymore or it comes with the
territory, so why complain? Living in the flight
path of an international airport has a desensitizing
effect on the eardrums, though that’s not true
not for everyone. Neighbors upset about plane
noise are a small, yet vocal lot.
LAX a year ago installed a new reporting
system for neighbors of the surrounding
communities to file complaints about jet noise,
low-flying planes, changes in flight paths and
other annoyances. In that time, the number of
monthly complaints and individuals contacting
airport authorities about planes flying too low
or over their houses has increased dramatically,
according to an analysis of the community
response reports from LAX.
Last month, the public filed 5,287 complaints
about planes operating in LAX airspace. The
most recent number of grievances was nearly
1,100 higher than a year ago in July, which is
the height of the summer travel season. Four
communities--Culver City, Santa Monica,
Monterey Park and Los Angeles--topped the list
and those residents, in some cases, complained
30 times apiece to airport authorities either by
phone or online.
Neighbors who used the LAX noise
disturbance reporting system last month
complained most about unusually loud planes
(2,008) and low-flying planes (1,156). Late-night
or early-morning flights drew 535 comments,
which LAX officials say is to be expected
because the international airport operates 24
hours a day. Another 457 airport neighbors
objected to planes flying over their homes,
but LAX responded to those commenters that
the flight paths of incoming and outbound
planes are determined by the Federal Aviation
Administration and not the airport.
Under the year-old noise-reporting system,
airport administrations investigate and reply
to five complaints registered per person in a
month and include their findings in month
reports posted at the LAWA.org website. The
policy limits the number of public nuisance
investigations by LAX, but that hasn’t stopped
residents from Culver City to Palos Verdes from
filing multiple complaints, most of which are
about daytime air traffic.
An analysis of July’s community response
to LAX aircraft points to hot pockets in South
Bay where residents who see something, say
something. Behind Santa Monica and Culver
City, it was Inglewood residents who had the
most problems with plane noise. LAX reported
161 complaints from 22 Inglewood residents.
Nine people in Hawthorne generated 40
noise complaints last month. Seven Manhattan
Beach residents lodged 24 complaints about
planes, followed by Playa del Rey where four
people made 18 comments about disturbances
coming from the airport. The average number
of complaints per resident in those cities was
between three and four, compared to one per
month for El Segundo, Lawndale and Torrance
residents, the data showed.
Redondo Beach residents weren’t as quiet
as their neighbors to the north and east. The
beach city generated 153 aircraft complaints last
month coming from 45 individuals. Overall, the
number of noise complaints coming from area
residents has increased steadily since January.
LAX officials who prepared the July noise
and disturbance report have seen a 30 percent
jump in public complaints compared to a year
ago, July 2016.
Some of the bothersome issues caused by
jets are out of the airport’s control while others
are maintenance-related as LAX continues
its modernization of terminals and runways,
administrators say in their comments left for
individuals who have complained about night
flights and planes using the outer runway close
to Imperial Avenue. “The FAA has ultimate
authority over aircraft flight patterns and regulates
virtually all aviation activity with the major
emphasis on safety,” airport administrators
charged with investigating public comments
repeat often in their findings when aircraft
deviate from normal flight patterns or circle
the airport at a low altitude.
Fog and low clouds can amplify the noise of
aircraft inbound or leaving LAX, and neighbors
are often advised that the weather was likely
the reason why planes were louder than normal
on a given day. It’s not always a matter of
perception when plane noise gets reported.
Last week, LAX closed the south inboard
runway nightly for five hours to complete
construction on the runway’s safety area. Beach
city residents to the south of the airport were
warned to expect more noise overnight from 1
to 6 a.m. because the outer runway would be
busier with inbound and outgoing air traffic.
See LAX Noise page 8
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................5
Classifieds............................3
Community Briefs...............2
Finance..................................3
Food.......................................5
Hawthorne Happenings....3
Legals................................ 6-7
Pets........................................4
Police Reports.....................8
Seniors..................................2
Sports....................................8
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Partly
Cloudy
76˚/67˚
Saturday
Sunny
79˚/68˚
Sunday
Sunny
81˚/69˚