The Weekly Newspaper of Torrance Herald Publications - Torrance, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 7, No. 52 - December 28, 2017 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................2 Classifieds............................6 Crossword/Sudoku.............6 Legals....................................7 Pets........................................7 Police Briefs........................2 Real Estate...........................8 Sports....................................3 TerriAnn in Torrance..........4 Weekend Forecast Torrance Resident Helps Donate Life for Rose Bowl Parade Float Torrance’s Tammy Rusznak (pictured on the right) helped decorate the Donate Life Rose Parade Float at a special First Look event last week in Pasadena. Tammy was a kidney recipient, as was Holly Miyagawa to her left. The float, named “The Gift of Time,” is the centerpiece of a national effort to reach a broad audience with the message that organ, eye and tissue donations save and heal lives. Torrance Has a New Police Chief The City of Torrance announced last week the appointment of Eve R. Irvine as its new Police Chief. Since starting her career as a Police Cadet in 1982 with the City of Inglewood Police Department, Irvine has risen the ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Chief and is now Torrance’s 10th Police Chief. She will receive her new badge at the January 9 City Council meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. in City Hall. According to City Manager LeRoy J. Jackson, “We were fortunate to have an outstanding selection of internal and external candidates; Chief Irvine was the most outstanding. Irvine brings a breadth of experience, exemplary training, continued education and excellent interpersonal skills to lead a department that has remained committed to protecting the public’s safety.” In May, 2011 Irvine was sworn in as Police Chief for the Manhattan Beach Police Department. Prior to that, she became a nationally recognized expert in the area of Domestic Violence and worked assignments in Sex Crimes/Child Abuse, Assaults and Robbery in her work as a Detective for the Inglewood Police Department. In 1993, Irvine attended the highly acclaimed Delinquency Control Institute at the University of Southern California. She was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1994. As a Sergeant, Chief Irvine worked in the Patrol Bureau as a Field Supervisor and Watch Commander. In 1995, Irvine transferred to the Administrative Bureau, as supervisor over Police Training and Personnel. In 1997, she was appointed Acting Lieutenant and transferred to the Patrol Bureau as a Watch Commander. In 1999 she served as Adjutant to the Chief of Police. In addition, she commanded the Community Affairs Section, Internal Affairs and also served as Press Information Officer for the Department. Irvine is a recognized expert in the field of Media Relations. A graduate of the University of Redlands and University of La Verne, Irvine received a Bachelor of Science in Business and Management and a Master of Business Administration. She is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and California’s POST Command College. Irvine will oversee the department beginning January 8, which currently employs 227 sworn safety staff and 128 civilian staff. She currently serves as the President of the South Bay Police and Fire Memorial Foundation, and is a Board Member on the Governor’s Medal of Valor Review Board. She also serves as a member of the California Police Chief’s Association Law and Legislative Committee and the Training Committee, and is the Los Angeles County Police Chief’s Association’s representative on the Los Angeles County Peace Officer Memorial Foundation. – Content and Photo: Torrance PD • Torrance’s New Police Chief Eve Irvine. Ambulance Services Get Through Loophole in New Health Care Law By Rob McCarthy A loophole in a consumer protection law aimed at ending surprise medical bills is allowing ambulance companies to bill Medicare recipients thousands of dollars for their services. The new law that took effect in July ended the practice of surprise medical bills for out-of-network fees as long as a patient used a doctor, clinic or lab in their insurance network. However, people covered through Medicare, Medi- Cal or a self-insured health plan were excluded from the health care protection in Assembly Bill 72. Only people with private insurance are shielded from the practice known as balance billing. A doctor or provider typically will send a bill first to an insurer, which pays a flat rate for the service. The doctor, lab or clinic can seek the balance of the charge directly from the patient. Ambulance companies are included, too. The Kaiser Family Foundation recently looked into the continued balance billing practice of ambulance companies and says it’s not illegal. Unless an ambulance service belongs to a network, it can set its own rates. “Most complaints reviewed by Kaiser Health News did not appear to involve fraudulent charges. Instead, patients got caught in a system in which ambulance services can legally charge thousands of See Health Care Law, page 3 Friday Sunny 70˚/52˚ Saturday Sunny 66˚/53˚ Sunday AM Clouds/ PM Sun 64˚/52˚
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