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. 51 - December 19, 2013 Inside This Issue Business & Professional.........................4 Calendar................................3 Classifieds..........................10 Crossword/Sudoku...........10 Food.......................................7 Legals....................................9 Police Reports.....................3 Politically Speaking............4 Real Estate.........................12 Sports....................................6 TerriAnn in Torrance..........8 Weekend Forecast Santa Makes Grand Entrance at Torrance Kiwanis Holiday Event Santa was spotted in a F-5 fighter jet on Dec. 14 in the parking lot of Palos Verdes Bowl on the corner of Crenshaw and Skypark. The visit was met with cheers from children and adults alike, who also were able to participate in model building and crafts and games, along with food and gift booths. The F-5 jet was courtesy of the Western Museum of Flight. The activities were sponsored by the Torrance Kiwanis Club. Photo by Charlene Nishimura. Ashcraft Appointed to City Council By Dylan Little The Torrance City Council selected Heidi Ashcraft from a field of a dozen applicants to fill the position left vacant by Cliff Numark during the group’s Dec. 17 meeting. The selection process was a bit random to replace Numark upon his election to the El Camino College Board of Trustees. Prospective Council member names were shuffled and then selected by students from West High and Riviera Elementary (who attended the meeting to perform holiday songs). The Council voting order was also randomized in order to eliminate any kind of bias. After two rounds of voting, Heidi Ashcraft was agreed upon, with Geoffrey Rizzo and Milton Herring also receiving nominations from Council members Pat Furey and Bill Sutherland respectively. Ashcraft is best known for her 12 years of service to the Torrance Unified School Board. She was elected three times to the Board and served as Clerk, Vice-President and President. Before being selected, she mentioned her history on the Board as a reason to choose her for the position. “As you can see . . . we have a great school district,” said Ashcraft. “I take claim to that a little bit for 12 years on that Board.” In addition to her history with the School Board, Ashcraft has served as a leader and a community volunteer in a number of different ways. She is currently President of the Southern California Regional Occupational Center’s (SoCal ROC) Board of Education and in 2007 became the first woman chair of the Torrance Y. She has received awards including 2012 El Camino College Woman of the Year and the PTA Golden Oak Award in 2005. She said these experiences will help her to be an ideal Council member. “Together that’s a minimum of about 15 years of governance and leadership – not counting the other areas of the community I’ve been involved in,” said Ashcraft. “I’ve worked on budgets, set policies, hired employees and worked cohesively with my colleges. I have a track record that can be checked for my honesty and fairness.” After being sworn-in, Ashcraft gave a short See South High Senior, page 9 address and promised to listen to the concerns Friday Sunny 65˚/50˚ Saturday Mostly Sunny 64˚/49˚ Sunday Sunny 67˚/52˚ South High Senior Uses Talent to Spread Joy By Cristian Vasquez When South High senior Tiffany Hattori began balloon twisting, she never envisioned the hobby turning her into a sought-out local entertainer. After seeing a family friend balloon twisting, she became interested. Upon request, said friend taught her to make a balloon turtle. “At first I was afraid to start because I was afraid the balloon would pop in my hand--I would hold the balloon as far away as I could,” Tiffany said. “Eventually I got used to it and I have since popped many balloons while practicing. It is really fun and creative and once you get over the initial fear of popping a balloon, it gets a lot easier.” Tiffany began balloon twisting as a freshman because she considered it a great art to express her creativity. Trying new designs takes a while, but she has never shied away from a challenge and can make animals such as an owl and a monkey, and has even developed the ability to make Spiderman and Hello Kitty. “Once I had a bunch of extra orange and yellow balloons, so I thought it would be a good idea to try and make a duck,” Tiffany said. “Other times I will Google how to make something and then try what I see. I just practice a lot. When I am trying to create a new balloon animal, I look at the picture and try to figure it out. I just keep going until I make it.” While Tiffany’s brother Alex awes people with his yo-yo skills, balloon twisting of residents. “I promise to do my best for the citizens of Torrance,” said Ashcraft. “One of the most important things I can do is to listen. I thank you very much for this opportunity and I look forward to working for the City of Torrance and doing the best that I can do.” This is the Council’s second appointment this year. Susan Rhilinger also left the group in 2013. Both times, Scotto noted that selecting replacement Council members is a major challenge because of the number of qualified applicants. “I got to tell you, it’s been a trying situation for us up here because . . . a lot of these people are very qualified to be Council members,” said Scotto. “You have 12 people that want to be appointed and obviously only one can make it and so it’s a very difficult decision. I want to make sure everyone knows this was not taken lightly.” The Council also heard a report from Assistant City Manager Adam Chaparyan on a study to see if Torrance could economically support a conference center and an upscale “boutique” hotel. The study was conducted by HVS--a Chicago-based hotel consulting and valuation firm. The results weren’t positive, specifying a lack of name recognition and competition from more vacation-friendly sounding cities like Redondo Beach (a representative from HVS claimed the word “Beach” in the city’s name was an advantage). However, Chaparyan said Torrance is already working on increasing its tourism appeal. “The findings at this time indicate that Torrance needs to focus on its branding efforts, which we are through the efforts of Discover Torrance,” said Chaparyan. “The current market conditions do not create a favorable environment for a conference center nor a boutique hotel.” The Council was disappointed to hear HVS’s remarks about adding a high-end hotel and a conference center. Furey expressed that while the news wasn’t as positive as he expected, the report will give the Council ideas on how to make Torrance a bigger tourism and events destination. “I think I speak for all See City Council, page 11
Torrance 12_19_13
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