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Torrance: No Parking on Street Sweeping Day
Torrance residents have a new issue facing them and that is the fact that due to Federal, State and County mandates we must cut down to zero the amount of trash that enters our storm drains; failure to comply will result in fines of up to $10,000 a day. One method of cutting down on the trash and debris is to improve the efficiency of our street sweepers; in order to accomplish this the City of Torrance is proposing the addition of no parking signs on street sweeping days. This has caused quite an uproar as many people are suggesting that this is not necessary; that people will voluntarily keep their cars off the street on street sweeping day. I saw one comment on Facebook that suggested, \”Street sweeping has been going on for years in my neighborhood – WITH NO SIGNS! Crazy, isn\’t it, to think that people might actually do what is best and right for their neighborhood WITHOUT forced government intervention? Every Monday there is NOT ONE car parked on the street as far as I can see. CRAZY!\”
I decided to watch the video of the April 22 City Council meeting (http://torrance.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=8) and it seems a large number of the people that are against the no parking signs are from the same part of Torrance as the person that made the Facebook comment, so I decided to head out there on Monday. These are the photos of what I observed.
If you have an opinion about this proposal you should head to the Torrance City Council meeting tonight, Tuesday May 20 at 7:00 PM. Continue reading
Photos of the 55th Annual Armed Forces Day Parade
Saturday afternoon, the City of Torrance hosted their 55th Annual Armed Forces Day Parade, the longest running military parade sponsored by any city in the United States. Each year a different branch of the military is honored with this year being the Navy. The Grand Marshal was United States Navy Rear Admiral Patrick J Lorge.
In addition to the dignitaries, high school and military marching bands, and military equipment there were several aerial flyovers and a mass swearing in of about 600 young men and women to various branches of the armed forces. While it was a pretty hot day, there seemed to be a consensus that it was a fun parade and the 20 degree drop in temperatures was quite welcomed.
The military equipment is on display at the Del Amo Fashion Square until 3:00 PM on Sunday. Continue reading
The 55th Annual Armed Forces Day Celebration in Torrance
It is that time of year again, the Torrance Armed Forces Day celebration is this weekend with the highlight being the 2014 Armed Forces Day Parade, the nation\’s longest running military parade sponsored by any city which will be held Saturday from 1:30-3:30 PM. Every year a different branch of the military is honored and this year it is the US Navy. The parade runs down Torrance Boulevard from Crenshaw to Madronna. If we are lucky and the weather forecast is correct, it should be a lot cooler than it has been.
These photos are of the military exhibits which can be found at the Del Amo Fashion Square, by the Macy\’s entrance and will be viewable from Friday through Sunday. You can visit the City of Torrance website for all the pertinent Armed Forces Day celebration information. Continue reading
Mooneyes Mother\’s Day Show & Drags
Regular readers of GotBaddog may recall that since 2010 I have been attending and photographing the Mooneyes Christmas Party, Car Show & Drag Races at Irwindale Speedway. This past December the weather did the unthinkable by raining out the event; if you can imagine rain in December. As a result, Mooneyes rescheduled the event for Saturday, May 10 and renamed it the Mooneyes Mother\’s Day Show & Drags. Even though I had other plans, I decided to stop by Irwindale to check out the morning action.
The first thing I noticed was that there was a much smaller crowd that I have ever seen at the Christmas Show; so much smaller that the parking situation which usually causes the most complaints was not an issue at all. As I made my way through the car show to the drag strip it suddenly dawned on me that I had forgotten to bring my ear protection. As I usually like to get situated a little ways down from the staging lights I decided my ears would survive without them. After I signed my waiver and prepared to get situated I was informed that things were different this year and photographers had to stay in one small area right by the staging lanes. To those unfamiliar, this is where the cars typically do their burnouts to make the tires sticky; it is also about the loudest place one can stand. After one of the first cars hit a wall it caused a fairly significant delay while debris was removed from the track; the next set of cars that staged were far too loud for my unprotected ears and I decided that I was not going to be able to get the shots I wanted so I called it a day. Continue reading
My take on the upcoming Torrance election
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On June 3, 2014 the California Primary Election will be held to vote on statewide measures as well as local offices. For Torrance, this is a pretty important election as our current mayor, Frank Scotto will term out and there are four city council seats that are up for grabs. We have three candidates running for Mayor and sixteen candidates vying for the four city council seats.
As far as mayoral candidates are concerned, we are pretty lucky. Over the past few years I have had the opportunity to observe, interact and talk to all three candidates and I can honestly say that no matter which of them wins, I think Torrance will be okay. I like Tom Brewer, and he seems like a really nice guy; Bill Sutherland is a man of principle and he has no problem saying what he thinks. While I may not always agree, one must respect his honesty. Bill has been nothing but helpful when approached about a few Torrance oddities and that is also appreciated. I have previously written about my relationship with Pat Furey and as he has always been an advocate for children, both in his personal and professional life as well as having close to 25 years of civic involvement, I must endorse Pat for Mayor. A friend mentioned recently that Furey was the only Democrat of the three candidates so that is why she was voting for him. The Office of Mayor is not supposed to be a Republican versus Democrat ideology and the reality is, I do not know what political party Brewer and Sutherland belong to, but if party allegiance is important to how you cast your vote, I am relatively confident Furey is not a Republican. Continue reading
5th Annual Fiesta Fundraiser coming May 13
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Allison Dewart, attended Towers Elementary, Bert Lynn Middle School and was Captain of her soccer team at West High School in Torrance. In 2006, during her freshman year at Loyola Marymount University, she was killed in an auto accident caused by a drunk driver going the wrong way on the freeway. In 2010 Allison\’s parents established The Allison Dewart Memorial Scholarship Foundation to award scholarships to female West High School students in her memory.
As Allison\’s motto was \”Mexican food is always good\” the Dewarts teamed up with local Mexican restaurant, El Paso Cantina to enhance their fundraising efforts. On Tuesday, May 13, customers that present a copy of the flyer when dining will have 20% of their total food bill donated to the scholarship fund. People wishing to participate in this fundraiser should print out a copy of the flyer, which can be found at https://app.box.com/s/vpuoxumvjer3ligtetas and present it when paying their check. El Paso Cantina is located at 2404 W. Sepulveda Boulevard in Torrance and will be open from 11:30-9:30 PM. More details can be found on the Facebook event page they created.