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. 50 - December 12, 2013 Inside This Issue Business & Professional.........................4 Calendar................................3 Classifieds..........................10 Crossword/Sudoku...........10 Food.......................................8 Legals....................................9 Pets.................................... 6-7 Politically Speaking............4 Real Estate.........................12 Sports....................................5 TerriAnn in Torrance..........3 Weekend Forecast 2013 Student Automotive Design Challenge Hosted at Honeywell Forty-nine students from Torrance’s Madrona Middle School participated in the 2013 Student Automotive Design Challenge (SADC) and a special celebration to thank the volunteers and announce the local champion of the challenge was held on Dec. 4 at Honeywell research and design facility in Torrance. Sponsored by Honeywell and SAE International, SADC is a global contest created to inspire young students in the fields of math and science. Madrona Middle School students were guided by teacher and SADC Coordinator Allison Snider and Asst. Principal Lisa Jones. The Honeywell volunteers included HTT Director of Engineering William Smith, HTT Engineer and SADC Coordinator Shawn Merritt along with Michael Chin, David Eguchi, Adrienne Francis, Andrew Gardner, Christopher Meade, Tabetha Rodriguez and Gil Yu. Photo by Charlene Nishimura. Council Approves Airport Security Upgrades By Dylan Little The Torrance City Council agreed to over $900,000 in security upgrades to Zamperini Field during its Dec. 10 meeting. The work would complete security upgrades started in 2009 and replace outdated safe infrastructure with modern surveillance and access systems. The proposed improvements include replacing the 25-year-old swipe card access system with a proximity card system similar to the one currently installed in the Torrance Police Department and the City Yard, adding LED lighting to the hangars and replacing the six-foot-tall fencing along Madison Avenue and the former farmers market location with eight-foot-tall fencing to match the improved fencing installed in 2009 in other parts of the airport. Mayor Frank Scotto said that in the wake of the Sept.11 terrorist attacks, securing Zamperini Field has been a major priority for the City. “We had this discussion a long time ago – after 9/11 of course,” said Scotto. “We wanted to make our airport more secure.” The plan also calls for 13 new security cameras in be installed in the airport. These cameras would have pan, tilt and zoom capabilities that a staff report claims will allow “wider coverage” of illegal activities. Scotto wanted to make sure the cameras would be modern, with his primary concerns being the clarity of the images, ease of archiving and search of footage. Engineering Manager Beth Overstreet said the new cameras would address both these concerns while saving money on storage for the footage. “The cameras will have a much sharper image,” said Overstreet. “There’s also a cost savings associated with storage. At one point . . . it was around $410 per terabyte. That was back in 2007 and that price has dropped by 85 percent.” Another public safety-minded addition is See STEM, page 3 Friday Mostly Sunny 62˚/48˚ Saturday Sunny 72˚/51˚ Sunday Sunny 71˚/53˚ ExxonMobil Awards Grants to STEM Teachers By Dylan Little Teachers in the Torrance Unified School District (TUSD) received $100,000 in grants from ExxonMobil to fund innovative new science, technology, engineering and math programs (collectively known as STEM). The teachers behind these innovative methods were recognized during the ExxonMobil STEM Awards ceremony held on Dec. 5, 2013. The goal of the STEM Awards is to provide teachers with the opportunity to pioneer new programs, enhance classroom curriculum and create enthusiasm to energize their students’ learning experiences in STEM. In 1997 the Torrance Refinery and the ExxonMobil Foundation began the awards program and in 2010, the program was restructured to emphasize a stronger focus on STEM projects and curriculum. To date, ExxonMobil has awarded over $1.3 million in classroom grants through this program. Torrance Refinery Manager Pablo Borginino said the refinery’s goal of improving education is a special calling for him. “Helping teachers is very personal for me,” said Borginino. “Both my parents were teachers--my mother was a tough math teacher--they clearly influenced my natural tendencies towards STEM. Something clearly I learned from them is how much passion and hard work it takes to be a teacher.” The grant-winning lessons were all aligned to the new Common Core State for automated license plate readers that can use character recognition to cross-reference vehicles entering the airport with a Department of Justice database of vehicles linked with criminal activities. Police Chief John Neu said any matches would immediately be routed to his department. Neu explained that the license plate readers help in both apprehending criminals who make their way into the airport before they can cause damage as well as documenting who entered the airport at what time in order to investigate in the wake of an incident at Zamperini Field. “As an investigative tool . . . the automated license plate readers have proven to be extremely beneficial to use in protecting the public,” said Neu. “You have information that is already booked into the system where it detects vehicles or plates that we are looking for any specific reason that relates to domestic terrorism or incidents at small airports. The other side is after the fact – God forbid – we have a catastrophe at the airport or a major incident, it allows us to go back and review and investigate who was there at the particular time.” The new security features worried two residents, who spoke during the meeting to express concerns over the security of the data being collected and the increasing amount of surveillance on citizens. Neu attempted to reduce these fears by explaining that these readers will not be patrolling the city See City Council, page 3
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