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. 52 - December 15, 2016 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................2 Classifieds............................6 Crossword/Sudoku.............6 Community Briefs...............4 Food.......................................5 Legals.................................6,7 Real Estate...........................8 Sports....................................3 TerriAnn in Torrance..........4 Weekend Forecast As has been the case for many years, Torrance’s Sleepy Hollow neighborhood has transformed into Candy Cane Lane to delight thousands of visitors throughout the month of December. Homeowners decorate their houses, trees and lawns with creative light displays that must be seen to be believed. The Sleepy Hollow Christmas Lights Extravaganza runs nightly from 6 to 10 p.m. all of December with walk streets closed to vehicle traffic during this period. Parking is available on PCH, Calle Mayor or Prospect Avenue. Photo by Peter Thornton. • Council Approves Proposed Redesign to Landscape, Hardscape of City Hall By Cristian Vasquez A recommendation made by the Community Planning and Design Committee for a proposed redesign to the front of City Hall’s landscape and hardscape received approval from the Torrance City Council during Tuesday night’s meeting. Also approved was the option to extend the same improvements to the fronting of the building’s East Annex and West Annex. “Due to the deterioration out in front of the plaza at City Hall and because of uprooting trees and skateboarding, FEAP 907 was added to the capital budget in 2015 with a budget of $200,000,” said Facilities Manager Jon Landis. “Since then, this summer the City selected a Torrance-based landscape architect to do a conceptual design.” Through the landscape proposal, the architect See City Council, page 7 School District Slowly Transitions to PowerSchool Platform By Cristian Vasquez In an effort to expedite the registration process, the Torrance Unified School District (TUSD) will transition into a digital platform known as PowerSchool, phasing out its current system, Zangle (also referred to as Q). TUSD Chief Education Technology and Information Services Officer Gil Mara announced during Monday night’s School Board meeting that the District is on schedule to introduce the PowerSchool registration platform by the beginning of the fall 2017 semester. PowerSchool is leading education technology platforms for K-12. So far the platform provides service to more than 24.5 million students, 43 million parents, and 67 million users in around the world. “We need a more modern system in order to accommodate all of the current data needs of the District, so when they are looking for things on student achievement or wanting a report on any kind of data, a system like PowerSchool is built on an engine that can accommodate all of those things,” Mara said. “It is also a better grade book for the teachers and allows for a lot better reporting capability.” The first step for TUSD for transitioning into PowerSchool will be switching to the registration aspect of the program, which is only a small piece of what the entire platform provides. “When the parents come recommended replacing the Carrotwood trees currently in front of City Hall now that those have reached the end of their lifespan. Furthermore, the roots in the trees have caused structural damage to some of the concrete and tiles in front of the building. “Some of the items that were included were new stamped concrete hardscape, a new fountain which is an overflow.” Landis said. “New plant materials, a drought-tolerant landscape and an option to expand the landscape from the east end, west bound to the Human Resources building.” The City Council Community Planning and Design Committee, along with Assistant City Manager Mary Giordano, Assistant to the City Manager Brian Sunshine, Landis and landscape architect Arthur Alaniz from the SEED Group (which prepared the conceptual design for the project) met on September 13. After the meeting, Councilman Tim Goodrich (also a Community Planning and Design Committee member) recommended that the City seal be infused into the new hardscape. “Councilman [Mike] Griffiths requested lighting enhancements such as up-lights on buildings and trees, as well as in the water feature, be considered,” states the staff report. The councilman also recommended that the redesign include upgrades to infrastructure and an electrical conduit in case security lighting for the walkways are sought out down the road. This is a feature that Landis stated would be added beneath the new concrete to allow electrical features to be added in a future project--if the current budget can’t accommodate it. With the approval of the conceptual design, City staff will now move to complete a contract package for the competitive bidding process. Purchase Order Approved For Voicemail System Servers The Mayor and City Council approved the appropriation of $27,280.94 from the Telephone Replacement fund for a purchase order with Digital Telecommunications Corporation (DTC) to buy and install voicemail system servers and software. The City of Torrance has used the AVST CallXpress voicemail system since February 2010. While the system is capable of supporting 2,700 voice mailboxes, answering 50,000 per year, and routing calls through an automated answering system, staff pointed to the need for an upgrade. “Staff has evaluated alternative Cloudbased voicemail systems and determined that maintaining a private voicemail system in premises offers the greatest security, best performance and easy access for technical staff to administer,” states the staff report signed by Communications & Information Technology Director Richard Shigaki. “DTC is currently the City’s contracted telephone service provider. It is recommended that City Council approve Friday AM Rain/ Wind 60˚/45˚ Saturday Sunny 57˚/44˚ Sunday Sunny 59˚/45˚ Sleepy Hollow is the Place to See the Christmas Lights Extravaganza See School Board, page 6
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