Lawndale Tribune AND lAwNDAle News The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - January 19, 2017 Inglewood Baseball Fund Welcomes Hall of Famer Winfield Rockstar players, professional alums and Baseball Hall of Fame member Dave Winfield (fourth from the right, top row) celebrate the program’s 10th anniversary at Serra High School in Gardena. The event was organized by the Inglewood Baseball Fund. Photo by Edizen Stowell, Venice Paparazzi “I want to be proud of where I live, Lawndale is a great place for restaurants and people to thrive.” Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................2 Classifieds............................4 Community Brief.................3 Film Review..........................4 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Legals............................2, 6-7 Pets........................................8 Police Reports.....................3 Sports....................................5 Seniors..................................4 Weekend Forecast Friday Rain/Wind 59˚/49˚ Saturday Mostly Sunny 60˚/52˚ Sunday Rain 56˚/52˚ Lawndale Begins New Year with Homeless Census By Haleemon Anderson meeting. Abram asked that the Council honor The City of Lawndale will join with the mandate to respond to comments, per the volunteers throughout the South Bay to count City’s by-laws. City Attorney Tiffany Israel the homeless population, it was announced noted the time is now set at three minutes at Tuesday’s meeting of the City Council. A per speaker. representative from the Los Angeles County Longtime resident Marge Heinemann Homeless initiative said teams will receive thanked the Council, saying her garage training on the morning of January 25 doesn’t flood anymore since storm drains and conduct the actual count that evening. clogged for years have now been cleared. Additional volunteers are still being sought She also applauded local law enforcement to help count the itinerant population. “The goal is to canvass every census tract,” said Caroline Taylor. A detailed report on the findings is to be complied by summer. In public comments, Library Manager Lyda Truick congratulated Mayor Robert Pullen- Miles on his recent appointment to the Los Angeles County Library Commission. Pullen- Miles said the nomination came forward at the City Selection Committee meeting. He noted the committee also voted to appoint Mayor Robert Garcia of Long Beach to the Metro Board of Directors as representative of the South Bay and Long Beach. In other comments, resident Pam London asked homeowners in the city to demand a rental property inspection program. She said constant problems with renters, including parking and building violations, are bringing down property values. Another resident, Johnny London, also criticized the unkempt properties and lack of parking enforcement. “I want to be proud of where I live,” he said. “Lawndale is a great place for restaurants and people to thrive.” Resident Randall Abram pointed to the reduced speaking time for public comments, which was approved by the Council at last for a recent drug raid and seizure. Councilman Daniel Reid suggested he and his colleagues might sponsor some workshops on property values and maintenance. Mayor Pro Tem Pat Kearney also requested staff follow-up on parking enforcement. Mayor Pullen-Miles thanked Ms. London for her perseverance, saying he would also like to have staff look into parking violations and property maintenance throughout the city. The consent calendar was passed unanimously, without objection, with nine items meeting approval. Councilman John Osborne was absent. The Council approved a first reading of Ordinance 1128-17, which included a staff recommendation to amend the municipal code regulating construction and construction waste management. City Manager Steve Mandoki announced a vacancy on the Beautification Committee. Applications are available at City Hall and online. The Council also discussed a City code requirement on undergrounding utility cables and other wiring—an item brought forth by Kearney. He requested that staff bring back a report to update the ordinance related to public works and utilities. The issue is costs related to so-called “granny housing”--basically add-on construction at existing properties and not new construction, in particular costs associated with undergrounding utility wires. The Council asked staff to tighten up the language in the City code and bring it back for further review. If the cost of undergrounding exceeds 10 percent of the total price of the renovation, it would fall under a financial hardship waiver. However, the Council is interested in ensuring that waivers are not misused to circumvent the relatively low cost, in most cases, of undergrounding. Mayor Pullen-Miles pointed out that with new construction, utility wires are mandated to be underground, but the City has become overrun with overhead wiring related to renovations and add-ons. He noted that he had never encountered an application for undergrounding in 14 years on the Council, that the City had not been waived. “The threshold is so low,” said Pullen-Miles. The Council went into closed session to discuss the potential of initiating litigation in the Metro expansion at the Airport and 96th Street commuter station, which would encompass Lawndale city proper. The Council will hold its next regular meeting on Monday, February 6, at 6:30 p.m. •
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