Page 2 April 10, 2014 TORRANCE TRIBUNE Police Reports Calendar City Council from front page Saturday, April 12 • Torrance Certified Farmers’ Market, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Charles H. Wilson Park, 2200 Crenshaw Blvd. For more information call (310) 618-2930. • Spring Exhibition Show opening at The California Museum of Fine Art, 6-9 p.m., 1421 Marcelina Avenue. For more information call (323) 908-8909 or email calmusefineart@ gmail.com. • The Interludes-Classical Music Concert Series: Russian Pianist Svetlana Smolina, 3:30 p.m., First Lutheran Church of Torrance, 2900 W. Carson Street. • Free Arts “Tune-Up” Workshop for Individual Artists and Arts Organizations, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Ken Miller Recreation Center, 3341 Torrance Blvd. • Free Emergency Preparedness Workshop hosted by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43),10 a.m.-12 p.m., George Nakano Theater, 3330 Civic Center Drive For more information call (323) 757- 8900. • Torrance Democratic Club “Meet Our Endorsed Torrance Candidates” event, 7 p.m., Arjay Plaza, 23211 Hawthorne Blvd. • South Coast Cactus & Succulent Society Show & Sale, also April 13, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd. For more information call (310) 544-6815. Sunday, April 13 • Torrance Community Health & Wellness Day, 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center, 3330, Civic Center Dr. Provides screening by Torrance Family & Urgent Care / South Bay Pain Docs for lung capacity; eye, ear, and nose checks; dental consultations; bone density tests; blood pressure checks; and spinal screenings. Monday, April 14 • Free Annual Student Art and Design Exhibitions: B.A. Graduates” opening reception, 5:30-7:30 p.m., California State University, Dominguez Hills Art Gallery, 1000 E. Victoria St., Carson. For more information call (310) 243-3334. Tuesday, April 15 • City Council Meeting, 7-10 p.m., City Hall, Council Chamber, 3031 Torrance Bl. For more information call (310) 618-2870. Thursday, April 17 • City Council Candidates Forum hosted by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce, 8:00am breakfast/8:30 a.m. program, George Burglary-Auto 3/30/2014 5:30:00 PM 3500 BLOCK CARSON ST Suspect(s) punches door lock for entry and takes property/MP3, laptop, software, external drive Burglary-Residential 3/30/2014 2:00:00 PM 4800 BLOCK VIA EL SERENO Suspect(s) enters unlocked door and takes property /laptop Burglary-Auto 3/30/2014 8:00:00 AM 2000 BLOCK SANTA FE AVE Suspect(s) attempts to pull window, smashes window, but tint keeps it in tact/ no entry, no loss Auto Theft 3/30/2014 9:30:00 AM 182ND ST & REGINA AVE Stolen vehicle: ‘06 Nissan Maxima Theft 3/29/2014 12:45:00 PM 19700 BLOCK HAWTHORNE BLVD Suspect(s) takes property from purse left behind by victim/ wallet, cell phone Battery-Simple 3/29/2014 11:31:52 AM 17700 BLOCK WESTERN AVE Suspect pushes victim to the floor before punching and kicking him Burglary-Auto 3/29/2014 1:00:00 PM 2700 BLOCK 182ND ST Suspect(s) smashes window for entry and takes property/purse Theft 3/29/2014 3:09:48 AM 20700 BLOCK OSAGE AVE Suspects exit taxicab without paying fare Battery-Simple 3/28/2014 12:38:07 PM 3700 BLOCK PACIFIC COAST HWY Suspect repeatedly punches victim in the face Nakano Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive. For reservations, call (310) 543-3113, or visit TorranceChamber.com. • Beach Cities Republicans monthly meeting, 7 p.m. (6 p.m. no host dinner), Sizzler Restaurant, 2880 Sepulveda Blvd., For more information email plagrelius@aol.com or call (310) 753-4159. Saturday, April 19 • Celebrity Lecture Series: Michael Donley, former Secretary of the Air Force, 11 a.m., Western Museum of Flight, 3315 Airport Drive. For more information call (310) 326-9544. • Free Earth Day Events In Torrance, 8 a.m.-Noon, Toyota Employee Parking Lot on Toyota Way between Van Ness/Western Ave. For more information call (310) 781-6900. • Breakfast With Bunny hosted by The City of Torrance Community Services Department, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., Toyota Meeting Hall, 3330 Civic Center Drive. For more information call (310) 618-2930. Wednesday, April 23 • Torrance City Council Candidates Forum hosted by OTNA, 6:30-9 p.m., Bartlett Senior Center, meeting room, 1318 Cravens Avenue. Thursday, April 24 • “Marshmallow Madness”, 4 p.m., Henderson Library, 4805 Emerald St. For more information please call the Henderson Library 310-371-2075. Friday, April 25 • Hardback Booksale, 2-6 p.m., Katy Geissert Library, 3301 Torrance Blvd. For more information call (310) 618-5959. Saturday, April 26 • 42nd Annual Bunka-Sai Japanese Cultural Festival, (also April 27), 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Ken Miller Recreation Center, 3341 Torrance Boulevard. Sunday, April 27 • BubbleMania: Comedy with a Drip!, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive. For more information call (310) 781-7171. Ongoing • Downtown Torrance Marketplace. Every Thursday, 3-8 p.m., on El Prado Street, from Sartori to the Buffalo Fire Department. • Happy Hats for Kids In Hospitals nonprofit group hosts a workshop to decorate or sew hats for hospitalized children every Tuesday from 12:30-2:30 p.m. at 923 Van Ness Avenue. Please call 310-787-0970 to reserve a spot. • This Week in 1864 April 10 Banks contoured retreat from Pleasant Hill, LA. April 11 Bank’s army retreated toward Grand Ecore, LA. April 12 Nathan Bedford Forrest captured Fort Pillow, TN in what came to be known as Fort Pillow Massacre. April 13 Union gunboats reached Grand Ecore, LA on the Red River. April 14 President Abraham Lincoln reviewed 67 court martial cases. April 15 Ironclad USS Eastport was severely damaged by mine on Red River. April 16 Report showed Union had captured 146,634 Confederates since star of war. These history tidbits were excerpted from United States House of Representatives calendar. This “We, the People” calendar commemorates the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War and is provided by The United States Capitol Historical Society. The calendar was sent by Congressman Henry A. Waxman. • Letters The Issues are Not the Issue The City Council is the policy-making body of the City. It passes laws, makes policy decisions, adopts the budget, authorizes expenditures, levies taxes and secures revenues. I submit that in performing these duties, the Council is also responsible for assessing the quality of work performed by the City Manager and the various Directors and Chiefs who report directly to the City Manager. These responsibilities require Councilmembers with certain skills. The ability to discuss a few hot topic items at a local debate does not necessarily make for a qualified candidate. The City’s annual general fund expenditures exceed $175 Million and total annual expenditures exceed $250 Million. We need qualified people to sit on our Council. Ideally our Council, or for that matter any City Council, would be composed of people with different skills and different experiences. The perfect Council might look like this: Lawyer, Engineer, Accountant, Business Person, Educator, Architect or Designer Other people might offer a different composition and they might be right. My point is: We need certain basic skills on our Council. This group of people must deal with many technical, legal and financial issues each week. For example; when looking at items dealing with the City’s infrastructure, an Engineer would be invaluable. Some might say that people with these skills are already employed by the City. They are correct but The Council has the ultimate responsibility and must be in the position to make judgments on what City employees recommend or have done. We must elect qualified people. – Norm Segel, Torrance Resident • See Police Reports, page 6 adept in getting them enthused and engaged in activities. The Early Childhood Education program recognized Robert Sawai for his efforts in teaching Torrance’s youngest residents how to respond to a fire emergency. Sawai got local firefighters involved to show the kids the importance of dialing 9-1-1 in an emergency and to stop, drop and roll during a fire. Kathy Knickelbein was honored for years of assisting inventory management of the Walteria library. Her contribution was especially important as the Walteria branch saw increased activity while the other nearby branches were closed for improvements. Torrance Rose Float Association Vice President Roseanne Villalobos was recognized for her seven years of helping the association. She has managed silent auctions and membership drives to help see the float to completion on New Year’s Day. Philip Cohen from the Southern California Live Steamers was also honored for seven years of service to his organization. He wears many hats in addition to his engineers cap and also handles public relations, construction and technological support for the group. Torrance Sister City Association President Lori Chong Eurich received thanks for her 20 years of serving the association. She has touched every part of the program from raising money with Bunka Sai, selecting students and serving as their adult leader in Kashiwa, Japan. The Madrona Marsh had three volunteers to recognize. On the nature center side, Eda and Erine Rogers have helped out since 2005 and are currently writing a guidebook to the varied plant life found in the preserve. Helping out in the preserve itself, Dave Jamieson has assisted in maintaining and improving the infrastructure of the marsh. The Council also honored Sharon Padilla for her work assisting the Torrance Fire Department. She has helped the department for two and a half years in managing files on emergency medical calls. Lastly, Michael Smith was honored for volunteering his time getting youth involved in sports. As a basketball and football coach for 12 and nine years respectively, he has shown to be a motivational leader. For anyone looking to start making a “world of difference,” these groups are looking for more volunteers and the City’s volunteer program team runs a blog at http:// cityoftorrancevolunteerblog.wordpress.com that shares opportunities to get involved in the community as well. •
Torrance 04_10_14
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