The Weekly Newspaper of Torrance Herald Publications - Torrance, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 6, No. 13 - March 24, 2016 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................9 Classifieds............................4 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Film Review..........................4 Legals....................................8 Real Estate...................10-12 Sports....................................5 TerriAnn in Torrance..........3 Weekend Forecast Torrance Regional Middle School Math Competition On March 12, the Torrance Unified School District (TUSD) hosted its 6th annual Torrance Regional Middle School Math Competition at Hull Middle School. Fourth Place Team winners Bert Lynn Middle School pose with (L-R) their Coach Kevin Tambara, ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery manager Brian Ablett, James Kim, Roy Huallpa, Aaron Isara, Anirudh Eranki, Daniel Shao, and TUSD Superintendent Dr. George Mannon. Photo by Barbara Graham. • City Authorizes Transit Department to Sell Surplus, Obsolete Buses By Cristian Vasquez A recommendation by Transit Director Kim Turner to authorize the sale of 20 transit buses that are identified as surplus or obsolete in the Torrance fleet was approved unanimously by the city council. Authorized to assist in the sale of the vehicles is Ken Porter Auctions from the neighboring City of Gardena. “As Transit moves to complete its Fleet Modernization Project, older diesel-powered buses (averaging close to 16 years in age) are being phased out of the active fleet,” states the staff report signed by Transit Director Kim Turner. “While some busses will be maintained as part of our contingency fleet for a time, the buses listed in Attachment A will be officially replaced and are now declared surplus or obsolete by the Transit Director.” The Transit Department, which provides services such as the Torrance Community Transit Program, the Senior Taxi Program and the Dial-A-Taxi Program, will begin the process of renewing its fleet in the following. To make room for the new, the department needs the assistance of Ken Porter Auctions to sale old equipment and buses. “Because these buses were purchased using Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds at 80 percent Federal and 20 percent local match, all sales above $5,000 per vehicle requires the Federal portion the funding be returned to the FTA,” states the agenda signed by Turner. “The FTA recommends the definition of the useful operating life of a full-size transit bus as being 12 years or 50,000 miles of service. The buses listed in Attachment A have exceeded this definition.” The city is planning on keeping five of the old buses for the city’s contingency fleet, all of which will be rebranded. Of the buses to be auctioned off, 14 were low-floor vehicles while six were phantom models. “As we look to increase our service and enhance our route, and funding comes available, we will be purchasing more buses,” Turner said. “All future bus purchases will be low floor for ADA purposes.” Council Amends Contract for Work on Bus Signal Priority System Project The City Council authorized a third amendment to an agreement with Diversified Transportation Solutions in order to extend a contract until June 30 for their services as a project consultant on the city’s Bus Signal Priority System. Also amended was an agreement with Iteris, Incorporated of Los Angeles that extends another contract [June 30] for the construction and implementation of the Bus Signal Priority System. In 2005 the Countywide Metro Rapid Signal Priority Expansion Project was launched with the goal of implementing signal priority for seven Metro Rapid routes that run through 24 different jurisdictions. The Metro Rapid Five-Year Implementation concentrated the first phase on providing signal priority to four LACMTA Rapid corridors [Pacific-Long Beach, Soto, Hawthorne, and Florence], in addition to communication enhancements made to the Crenshaw pilot corridor. By 2008 Metro launched its efforts on the second phase, which included the Countywide Metro Rapid Signal Priority [CSP] Expansion Project. “Torrance Transit began operation of our Line 3 Rapid in November of 2012 as part of the Regional Rapid Program,” states the staff report See City Council, page 2 School Board Approves Free Eye Exams For Students By Cristian Vasquez A unanimous vote by members of the Torrance School Board approved for Vision To Learn to provide eye exams and glasses to Torrance Elementary School students, including preschool kids, during the 2015-2016 school year. “Vision To Learn will provide vision care services to students identified by the District as potentially having uncorrected vision difficulties at Torrance Elementary School, and at other schools, as requested, including preschools, by means of its Mobile Vision Clinic,” states the board’s agenda item. Vision to Learn was founded in Los Angeles four years ago for the purpose of providing children with free eye exams and glasses. Through the use of mobile clinics optometrists and opticians are able to conduct free eye exams and to provide kids from low-income families with eyeglasses at no cost to the child’s family. “Kids’ vision issues often go undetected, with as many as one in five children lacking the ability to see clearly,” Vision to Learn Founder and Chairman Austin Beutner wrote on the organization’s website. “Students with impaired vision can struggle to read a book, study math, see the board, or even participate in class—all of which can result in poor grades and adversely affect academic achievement.” By coordinating screenings with schools, community organizations and other youth Friday Mostly Sunny 69˚/55˚ Saturday Sunny 71˚/57˚ Sunday Partly Cloudy 70˚/56˚ See School Board, page 2
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