The Weekly Newspaper of Torrance Herald Publications - Torrance, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 4, No. 14 - April 3, 2014 The Central Torrance “Tsunamis” pose with their coaches, Troy Stanard and Christine Reif, on one of the six brand new Toyota Sports Complex fields on Maple Avenue in Torrance. A grand opening ribbon cutting and celebration was held on March 26. A large crowd was treated to an honor guard ceremony, congratulatory speeches from several county and city dignitaries and soccer and lacrosse exhibitions. See Page 2 for additional photos. Photo by Charlene Nishimura. Inside This Issue Business Briefs...................2 Calendar...............................3 Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................9 Classifieds............................4 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Food.......................................7 Legals..................................10 Pets......................................11 Police Reports.....................3 Politically Speaking............7 Real Estate.........................12 Seniors..................................8 Sports....................................5 TerriAnn in Torrance..........8 Weekend Forecast Torrance Unveils New Toyota Sports Complex Phase Two of School Modernization Nears Completion By Dylan Little The Torrance Unified School District Board of Trustees met with representatives from Balfour Beatty Construction, HMC Architects and Westberg and White during the March 31 meeting to discuss the progress made in modernizing six of the District schools. Addressing Towers and Riviera elementary schools, Emily Kay from HMC Architects said that while construction hasn’t begun at either site, her firm is working on getting the groundwork laid to allow work to proceed. HMC has already received approval from the Board and held a community construction meeting. “The construction management plan is in progress,” said Kay. “We actually had our preconstruction meeting this week.” Further out in the future, the firm and the Board will have to finalize consultant agreements to allow these projects to be done under the lease-leaseback model, which according to Balfour Beatty representatives has a much lower chance of cost overruns. Kay said she expected construction to begin by spring break of this year and conclude by summer 2015. The next two schools discussed were Hickory Elementary and Madrona Middle School. The Torrance Tribune has previously covered the grand re-opening of Hickory and detailed the improvements made to the school’s drainage, technology infrastructure and security. Paul Westberg of Westberg and White said the only work left at Hickory See School Board, page 2 Friday Mostly Cloudy 63˚/50˚ Saturday Sunny 66˚/54˚ Sunday Sunny 72˚/59˚ Council Recognizes Successful Youth Athletes By Dylan Little The Torrance City Council congratulated student athletes from six high school sports teams on achieving notable victories in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and other regional tournaments. The April 1 meeting saw the body honor the athletes, coaches and parents from six teams in the city. The meeting began with the Council recognizing the winners of the Torrance National Softball Tournament, North Torrance High. The tournament was held at Wilson Park and attracted 24 teams, with some from as far away as Utah. The last game was extremely close. North was down 7-1 in the sixth inning, but after a rally forced the game into extra innings and eventually clinched the win in the ninth inning. Coach Howard Miller hopes this win will be one of many as the team looks towards CIF later this year. “My coaching staff and I are very proud of these girls,” said Miller. “This has been a fantastic tournament to win.” The next team to be congratulated was the Bishop Montgomery High School girls basketball team that won the All-CIF Division 4 championship title. The team was led by Bridgette Reyes, who was named Coach of the Year for her division in her first year at the helm. She said it was a battle for her team to come out on top. “I’m just really proud of our girls for how hard they’ve worked this season,” said Reyes. “I’m so thankful to my coaching staff that are there with me. We fought through so much adversity this year. I’m really proud of all of you.” The Council also recognized Clarren “CJ” Pestano for his strong showing in wrestling. The Torrance High student made it to the State Qualifier as well as ranking second in CIF and seventh in Southern Section Masters. Coach Tom Snider praised his skill and dedication to the sport. “He is a very talented wrestler and he’s done it all four years,” said Snider. West High also had a strong showing in wrestling thanks to Yoshito Funakoshi. Funakoshi made it to the State Qualifier in boys wrestling, was the CIF Inland Division Champion, Southern Section Masters Runner- Up, and third place winner in CIF California State Championships. He also holds the school record for career wins with 169 in his four years of wrestling. Assistant coach William Haydt spoke highly of Funakoshi’s wrestling prowess. “I’ve been around the sport for a long time myself--it’s an individual sport that takes dedication, perseverance and incredible physical and mental strength,” said Haydt. “No one I’ve ever been around has personified that better than Yoshi.” The Council also recognized the basketball team from West High that won the Division 2 CIF Championship and was a runner-up in the Southern State Regional Championships. The team was ranked in the top 20 in the state and the top 50 in the nation. It also won its third consecutive Bay League title. Despite being named Coach of the Year in Division 2, Mike Caporaso modestly said all the credit for the team’s victory belongs with the athletes. “This is an amazing team,” said Caporaso. “Their accomplishments are beyond what I expected. See City Council, page 3
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