Street vendors.
Airport updates.
Meeting on Torrance police issues.
No go for a new logo.
How late did the Council meetings run?
There is a new issue in Torrance that has attracted a menu of complaints. It’s the increase in street vendors, prompted by a state law allowing them to set up shop without getting business licenses, etc.
The City, however, has some controls. If vendors are selling food, they are obligated to have an L.A. County Department of Public Health permit and must follow the agency’s regulations.
And the City has been shutting them down if they lack the necessary papers.
Two City Council members have been on top of this, but they are taking very different approaches.
District 2’s Bridgett Lewis has been updating residents, including me, with status reports crammed with information. She invited me to share them with readers, but the lag time is too great for my reports to be of much use. If you want her to keep you abreast, email blewis@TorranceCa.gov and ask to go on her mailing list.
District 5’s Aurelio Mattucci, on the other hand, has taken an inflammatory approach. At the end of April, he posted a derogatory item on his Facebook page. He ended the post by gratuitously slamming Wilmington.
The next day L.A. City Council member Tim McOsker, who represents Wilmington, took Mattucci down for his remarks.
That drew the attention of others, resulting in this Instagram post:
Dealing with this issue will require cooler heads. I’m hoping Lewis’ approach prevails.
Still up in the air:
The airport issue bookended my vacation – on April 12, the night before I left town, the Transportation Committee met and voted to take several measures to the City Council, including:
· Banning all touch-and-goes from both runways, but they were uncertain the FAA would permit that.
· Instituting landing fees – with possible exemptions for nonprofits.
· Signing a Letter of Agreement with flight schools to not fly over residents’ homes, but without an enforceability section the document appears to be worthless.
Then Monday, May 1, shortly after my return, I attended a meeting of concerned residents who generated some thoughts on how the problems could get resolved.
Attorney Chuck Costello organized the session, whose attendees included residents with an interesting range of backgrounds and skills.
The various views collected will be useful to the advocacy group going forward. Among those in attendance were Judy Brunetti and Richard Root, leaders of the Reform Torrance Airport group that has acquired more than 900 signatures on a petition.
They are determined to keep the Council focused on the steps needed to reduce plane noise. Email Costello at olletsocec@yahoo.com if you would like to participate in his plans.
After the meeting, Dan Will suggested one major reason why the airport has become such a problem: The City has not updated the Airport Master Plan governing how it operates the facility. How out of date is it? It was written in 1981.
Consequently, staff has told him, it ignores the plan’s basic tenets . . . such as how many flight schools can operate from the airport. The Plan limits the number of schools; just look at Page 67.
Mark your calendar:
When Chief Jeremiah Hart learned about racist texts reportedly sent by a group of his officers, he asked California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta to investigate. And now we are seeing the start of a process that may result in a consent decree between the City and the Justice Department.
You may have received an invitation to what the state is calling a Community Listening Session Regarding the Torrance Police Department and is open to anyone interested in attending. If not, here it is:
“The California Department of Justice (DOJ), in conjunction with policing experts Jensen Hughes, invite those who feel directly impacted by the Torrance Police Department (TPD), including those who have had personal or other direct experiences with TPD personnel, to participate in a virtual “town hall” to share experiences with and perspectives on the TPD. Torrance residents and those from the larger community are all welcome.”
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 16 at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. To pre-register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItcOiuqjItEtMDfo3jFwW_ocqQVVCC4S6i#/registration
No go for new logo:
It was 1 a.m. on May 10 when the Council got around to considering the 98 entries for a new logo. They decided to stick with the current logo . . . for the moment.
But when the audience was asked if anyone wanted to comment, one woman pointed to a proposed logo that showed a squirrel with a nut. That, she said, represented what’s going on: “It’s nuts to be talking about logos at 1 in the morning.”
Which brings us to . . . .
How late was it?:
The May 9 meeting finally ended at 2:57 a.m.
April’s meetings concluded at 2 a.m. on the 11th and 1:08 a.m. on the 25th.
Before I go:
Want to tell the City Council your opinion on an agenda item or address any concerns? Send it to CityCouncil@torranceca.gov; in the subject line put the agenda item or the topic.
If you also want your comments to appear in an agenda item’s Staff Report, send it as well to CouncilMeetingPublicComment@torranceca.gov. Make sure that you have sent it by 2 p.m. on the day of the meeting – earlier if you want it included in the agenda’s first posting, which can be a week ahead.
Jean Adelsman
Feel free to share this email -- or tell friends about www.TakeBackTorrance.com. And if you email a response to jeanadelsman@yahoo.com, please indicate whether you are expressing a thought for my eyes only or whether I may share your comments with the whole audience.
Comments