The Weekly Newspaper of Torrance Herald Publications - Torrance, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 3, No. 47 - November 21, 2013 Inside This Issue Business & Professional.........................4 Calendar................................3 Classifieds..........................10 Crossword/Sudoku...........10 Food.......................................5 Legals....................................9 Pets......................................11 Police Reports.....................7 Politically Speaking............4 Real Estate.........................12 Sports................................ 6-7 TerriAnn in Torrance............8 Weekend Forecast Spartan Girls Advance in CIF The South High girls’ volleyball team had a fantastic three-victory surge last week to qualify for the CIF Semi-Finals for the third year in a row. At the quarter-final, in a packed and spirited Spartan gym, South defeated Rancho Cucamonga 3-0 to earn the right to play #2 Oaks Christian in the semi. Photos by Shelley Kemp. For more photos see page 6 or visit www.ShelleyKempPhotography.com. Capital Budget Partially Adopted By Dylan Little On November 19, the Torrance City Council approved a capital budget plan that only included items taking advantage of outside funding after a trio of high-profile community projects were deferred due to a lack of funding. A contingent of Torrance residents spoke out about problems concerning the neighborhoods on Bluff Street, Del Amo Boulevard east of Crenshaw Boulevard and Madrona Avenue between 224th Street and 229th Street. Measures to address these problems were included in the budget, but unlike the majority of projects they did not meet the criteria for outside funding. Without outside funding, these solutions would therefore potentially significantly impact the general fund. The issue affecting Bluff Street is a mysterious stream of algae-ridden water that residents say is unsightly, damages property and poses a safety risk to residents. Bluff Street resident Joe Luttrell said City intervention is needed. “It’s a constant source of frustration,” said Luttrell. “Property values have been diminished and there is nothing we can do.” While City staff mentioned a work-around to create an alternate drainage method for the water, Mayor Frank Scotto called on the Bluff Street neighborhood to make repairs to the apparent source of the discharge, which is located on private property and outside the City’s scope of authority. “I would think as neighbors, you should get together and try remediate that problem in that backyard,” said Scotto. The Del Amo Boulevard neighborhood was hoping to see the median on the street receive a makeover. The City came up with a plan to make improvements to the street, including upgrades to the median. However, the plan to make comprehensive repairs is costly. The common sense solution is to just tackle the section the community is asking Test Scores Stay Strong in TUSD By Dylan Little Despite a minor dip in California Standards Test (CST) scores, the Torrance Unified School District (TUSD) is still exceeding the median score of districts in Los Angeles County. Chief Academic Officer Tim Stowe broke down last year’s testing results in his yearly student achievement presentation for the Torrance School Board at the Nov. 18 meeting. Overall, the District saw a decline in Academic Performance Index (API) scores, which ended Torrance’s run of improvement. Stowe said that this was typical for most of the districts in the state. “Torrance’s numbers have consistently gone up,” said Stowe. “Since the inception of the API, our numbers have gone up. We did go down nine points this year--a fraction of a percent--as did the rest of the state. Most districts in the state did see a slight decline in both English and math for their students.” Still, while not exceeding last year’s scores, Stowe said the District has been doing remarkably well given the climate of severe budget cuts. While California’s mandated goals for the District have been increasing every year, it hasn’t been an issue--as Torrance hasn’t had an API under 800 in nearly a decade. “Our API number of 860 is well above the state target of 800,” said Stowe. “We’re very proud of the work we have been able to continue to do in spite of significant budget cuts in the last couple of years.” Along with the lowered API score, the District saw most of its subgroup scores fall between three and seven points, See School Board, page 7 for--the median. However available funding is restricted to road maintenance, and median upgrades would be outside that scope. Torrance resident Lee Ybarra spoke on behalf of the area to ask for the City’s help in improving the area, especially in the face of the setbacks it has faced. “It’s been 50 years since there’s been anything on Del Amo,” said Ybarra. “We’ve survived the Mobil spill that dropped our property values and then the opening of the Del Amo extension. I think it’s time for improvement. It’s been a long time coming.” Residents living on Madrona Avenue south of Sepulveda Boulevard have been putting up with a vacant lot across the street from their homes that they saw has attracted weeds, debris and discarded furniture for years. The land was originally acquired as part of a plan to extend Madrona through Sepulveda Boulevard all the way to Lomita Boulevard, but that plan was derailed by objections by nearby residents. Since then, other solutions such as a bike path were attempted--but each in time was killed by objections from the community. Torrance resident Krishna Nand spoke on behalf of his neighbors to ask the City to make some improvements to the lot to remedy the eyesore as well as keep trash and dirt from blowing across the street and into their homes. “The Madrona residents strongly believe that lowmaintenance plants should be planted on the strip and a walking path should be created with low-maintenance plants on either side,” said Nand. “The land has been consistently neglected. It is not uncommon to see used Friday AM Showers 66˚/53˚ Saturday Few Showers 68˚/51˚ Sunday Partly Cloudy 65˚/51˚ See City Council, page 3
Torrance 11_21_13
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