TORRANCE TRIBUNE October 6, 2016 Page 3 State of the City from front page A video was created in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife called “Living with Coyotes” in addition to a new program called Wildlife Watch that will educate residents on how to coexist with the coyote. In fact, 100 domed shaped self-closing trash can lids that will prevent debris that lure coyotes will roll out into parks today. Like most Southern California cities, we have a population of homeless seeking refuge in our community. And, we are seeking a solution regionally and state-wide. About a year ago, the Community Lead Officer Detail became aware of the rise in homeless related issues in the city of Torrance. Tasked with the job of handling quality of life related issues, the CLO detail took on the difficult task of handling this rapidly escalating problem. Together with other agencies, the Police department continues to address the issue. And, the CLO detail has also been actively assisting homeless individuals with looming legal issues in addition to mental health issues. The Torrance Mental Evaluation Team is a field-based, co-response team that partners with a Department of Mental Health Clinician with a specially trained Torrance Police Officer and has been in operation for 16 months. T-MET provides training and resources to first responders, new officers, families of subjects with mental illness and the general public. Further, TMET handles all calls related to mentally ill subjects while on duty. As a result, patrol officers are cleared more quickly to resume regular patrol responsibilities. To date, TMET contacts have resulted in no reviewable use of force incidents and there have been no injuries to mentally ill subjects, officers or clinicians. TMET was also the first co-response team in Los Angeles County to receive Medi-Cal Certification as a Mental Healthcare Provider. Tech Co. named Torrance one of the 25 Healthiest Cities in the U.S. Serving the city are several medical centers and two hospitals located in Torrance, in addition to nearby UCLA Medical and Kaiser Permanente. In August, Torrance Memorial received Magnet® recognition for the second time from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, which recognizes nursing excellence. Torrance Memorial has also been ranked as one of the best hospitals for 2016-17 in California and the Los Angeles metro area for the fifth straight year by U.S. News & World Report, placing the hospital 21st in the state and 11th in the region. The report recognized Torrance Memorial for providing high performing and quality care in the many areas. They continue to improve facilities with a $33 million renovation of Torrance Memorial’s 33-year old North Tower. The revamped North Tower will house new Pediatric, Neonatal Intensive Care and Maternal Care Units. Deemed “a model for the nation” Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance earned recertification as a Center of Excellence for Palliative Care from the Joint Commission, a not-for-profit that accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the U.S. Palliative care services help patients cope with temporary pain that is a part of a treatment process, as well as helping patients and their families keep pain from interfering with a patient’s quality of life as they near the end of their journey. The medical center also received the Healthgrades, 2016 Patient Safety Excellence Award. Honored hospitals are comprised of the top 10 percent of hospitals nationwide evaluated for performance on 14 Patient Safety Indicators as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Infrastructure Cited as one of the most exciting infrastructure improvements, is the twenty-two million dollar Torrance Transit Park and Ride Regional Transit Terminal project. This transit center will interface with the Regional Rapid Service and existing light rail. It is envisioned to have level boarding platforms for transit vehicles, state-of-the-art passenger information kiosks and maps, parking spaces for Rideshare Van/ Carpool participants and enhanced shelters, E/V charging stations, fare vending machines and public restrooms. Phase 1 was recently completed and Southern California Edison is in the process of relocating nine wooden power poles through January 2017 to make way for widening of Crenshaw Blvd for the new access driveways. To follow the project, visit the work zone cam online at TorranceCA.Gov! Just type Transit Center into the search engine. The city has been aggressively lobbying the Metropolitan Transportation Authority – almost non-stop - to get the Green Line extended to our transit station in a reasonable time. The City continues to improve the water supply. They acquired a property behind Yukon Elementary School for development of the North Torrance Well Field, which will include a new groundwater well, a new three million gallon storage tank and treatment facilities. This site will result in increased water quality and production capacity. This is great for you, our business partners because like the Fire Department, water supply is also an evaluation piece of the ISO Class 1 criteria. Projects coming in the near future? The Crenshaw Blvd Rehabilitation will be starting construction soon. From Sepulveda to Skypark, and PCH to the City’s south boundary, this project will repair the pavement on Crenshaw Blvd and also include signage, traffic signal and landscape upgrades. The PCH & Hawthorne Intersection will also see improvements. This project will improve the traffic operation of the intersection demonstratively. Construction See State of the City, page 8 AT OUR NEW TORRANCE LOCATION Medical Your source for the BEST in: HARDWARE HOME IMPROVEMENT POWER TOOLS LUMBER • FINISHING FRIENDLY SERVICE AND EXPERT ADVICE NEW Location for Torrance! 4 stores in the L.A. area 20028 Hawthorne Blvd. 331-253-0117 TORRANCE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8TH 11 a.m. SawStop Cabinet Saw Free Demo All Day Representatives from Fein and SawStop SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15TH 9 a.m. Meet Linn Raia Darbin Orvar 11 a.m. SawStop Jobsite Saw Free Demo All Day Representatives from Jet/Powermatic Building on the CERT foundation: “help yourself - help your neighbors”, and partnering with the Torrance Area Chamberof Commerce, the Torrance Fire Department is now expanding on this program. The Fire Department has adapted the CERT curriculum to meet the needs of the local business owners and employees. Our Business Emergency Response Training program – what we call BERT includes handson exercises covering: basic first aid, disaster preparedness, utility control, fire suppression, search & rescue, disaster psychology, and domestic terrorism. This program is free of charge to local residents and business members with the first class coming up on October 26 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Chamber’s new offices on Crenshaw Boulevard. The Torrance Police Department has provided Active Shooter Awareness and Risk Mitigation Training for all City employees, which included bringing in-person training and safety assessments to all departments. The Department also offered similar training to the Torrance Unified School District, all retail stores at the Del Amo Fashion Center, and to more than 50 local businesses in partnership with the Chamber. I know the training was well received and it highlights the police department’s commitment to public safety and “Excellence Through Teamwork.” Torrance has been contending with both coyote sightings and attacks on pets this year. In response to these attacks and sightings, the City established a Coyote Management Plan. The goal of this Management Plan is to support coexistence with urban coyotes using education, behavior modification and development of a tiered response to aggressive coyote behavior. The tiered response requires active participation on the part of the entire community including residents, homeowners associations, volunteers and city personnel. Signs were created and placed in areas where both sightings and attacks have been reported. REGISTER IN TORRANCE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A PRIZE PACKAGE! GO ONLINE FOR A FULL EVENT SCHEDULE: rcklr.co/torrance
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