URGENT !! LEGADO TOMORROW NIGHT!

This is a call to action, please mark your calendars for April 5th at 6:00pm.

Legado returns to bring their traffic, density and side kick: bulldozers! 6:00pm is when the City Council starts, if you can not get there until 8:00pm, that fine, JUST SHOW UP!! We expect to fill up the Council Chambers, you might need to bring a chair to sit outside, be prepared. Please come to the podium, speak about Density, Traffic, Hotel and Community Character.

Density: 146 or 149 units is simply too much. The MAXIMUM allowable residential units is 110. Over-building is not legal, and it’s not right. Traffic: The traffic mitigation plan is not correct, concentrating on CalTrans traffic mitigation on PCH, and not on Palos Verde’s is a major issue. Fix the intersection FIRST, and DONT take out our beloved trees!

Hotel: There is no current plan to upgrade the Hotel, which the community has said time and time again that they want to be preserved and brought up to date. Community Character: This project simply does not fit the character of the Community, and needs to be scaled back. Building a massive structure such as this is not an asset to the community, rather it is detriment to our community.

Please show up, SPEAK your three minutes.  You do not need a speaker card, wait until the Mayor asks for more speakers. Please RE-ITERATE the same points over and over again.
THANK YOU!

info@saveriviera.org

Planning Commission DENIAL   The Planning Commission already UNANIMOUSLY DENIED the Legado project, now it’s the City Council; time! Read the DENIAL letter here: http://www.saveriviera.org/legado-denial/ Now we just need to get the City Council to do the same!   *****This post was authored by the Save the Riviera Group*****

The six candidates for Torrance City Council were at the Bartlett center yesterday evening for a forum sponsored by the Old Torrance Neighborhood Association.  Below is a summary of the event and their positions on the issues.

Opening Statement

• Eng: Council was misled on the refinery and needs a scientist on the Council to protect the community from HF.
• Herring: I am a proven leader in the military with a proven track record.
• Rizzo: Business is booming under my leadership with 1100 new business licenses last year.
• Griffiths: I have a history of service to the community with a clear record of where I stand on the issues.
• Dagastino: I attend every Council meeting and am up to speed on what makes the City tick.
• Sheikh: I am an American success story coming here with only $600 in my pocket and working hard to obtain two MBA’s.

What is your position on Historic Preservation?

• Eng: It’s a good idea.  Something is better than nothing.
• Herring: I support hiring of expert to give City advice on issue.
• Rizzo: I support something that meets everyone’s needs.
• Griffiths: I support a balanced approach that preserves history and protects property rights.
• Dagastino:  Too bad it wasn’t addressed 10 years ago, but thanks to the Mayor it’s being discussed now.  I support a voluntary option that is revenue neutral.
• Sheikh: I admire Council for moving to hire an expert to advise on the issue.

Would you hire McCormick Ambulance (Yes/No)?

• Eng: Undecided
• Herring: No
• Rizzo: No
• Griffiths: No
• Dagastino:Yes
• Sheikh: No

Would you support a raise for Councilmembers?

• Eng: No
• Herring: No
• Rizzo: No
• Griffiths: Yes
• Dagastino: No
• Sheikh: No

Do you support City paying for Rose Float? All voted yes.

Do you support City funded Fireworks celebration?  All voted yes.

Do you support TFD providing its own patient transport?

• Eng: Yes
• Herring: Undecided
• Rizzo: Undecided
• Griffiths: Undecided
• Dagastino:  Undecided
• Sheikh: No

Any creative ideas to revitalize downtown?

• Eng: Ensure there is no HF disaster that will destroy downtown.
• Herring: Have City government create an economic empowerment zone.
• Rizzo: Create restaurant and cabaret atmosphere with music where people can listen and enjoy themselves.
• Griffiths: Incentivize property owners to bring in new business.
• Dagastino:  Bring a Japenese company to downtown.
• Sheikh: Hold a 5K run in downtown Torrance.

What are your top goals if elected?

• Eng: Reduce HF risk and fix streets.
• Herring: Create government economic empowerment zones.
• Rizzo: Complete Historic Preservation Ordinance and View Ordinance.
• Griffiths: Take care of our streets and sidewalks.
• Dagastino: Bring new business to Torrance; I’ve already brought 4.
• Sheikh: Reduce traffic and support police.

Are unfunded pension liabilities a concern?  If so, what would you do to alleviate the issue?

• Eng: Yes, but I don’t think we’re going bankrupt.  It’s something that needs continual review.
• Herring: Yes, but it’s a like a mortgage and recent changes have gotten us where we need to be.
• Rizzo: Yes, but we’re on track due to past Council decisions and will be fine by 2020.
• Griffiths: Yes, it’s a huge problem.  I was glad to see the Council pay off some debt recently by allocating $3 Million for that purpose.  It’s being managed, but it’s a huge problem.
• Dagastino:  No, the numbers make it look worse than it really is.  We have time to pay it.
• Sheikh: Yes, but I will try to bring in new businesses that will generate more revenue to cover the costs.

How will you ensure Torrance keeps the ethical highroad?

• Eng: Have integrity.  I don’t expect Torrance to be in the media for this – too much.
• Herring: I will be ethical and above board.
• Rizzo: Set expectations and train and remind leaders.
• Griffiths: I will continue to speak out when I see something that is not right.
• Dagastino: Take yearly ethics course.
• Sheikh: Be transparent and take extra precautions.

What is one unique quality that you will bring to office?

• Eng: I am a space industry scientist.
• Herring: I’ve been married to one woman for 44 years proving I have the ability to stick to it.
• Rizzo: Active listener and know how to resolve conflicts.
• Griffiths: I try listen and hear all the facts before I speak.
• Dagastino: I worked every position in the airline industry and have a lot of patience and am a problem solver.
• Sheikh: I have a financial background with two MBA’s.

What is one question not asked you would like to respond to?

• Eng: HF could kill or injure thousands.  We need to fix that problem.
• Herring: We need an independent safety monitor at Exxon to provide quarterly reports to the City.
• Rizzo: Toyota will officially leave in 2019 taking with it a lot of jobs and we need to address public safety issues as recent propositions have allowed more criminals on the street.
• Griffiths: I’ve developed a record while in office by supporting the Rose Float, craft brewery business, Hawthorne corridor improvements, street pavement improvements, bringing back fireworks, and working on view and historic preservation ordinances.
• Dagastino: I am going to D.C. as part of a delegation to find out how they can help us and to recruit a replacement for the jobs we will lose by Toyota leaving.
• Sheikh: It’s an old City and we need to focus on revitalizing the City.

Closing Statement

• Eng: I want to preserve the quality of life in Torrance and do something to create a path forward with Exxon.
• Herring: I’m running to win and I want to serve and make Torrance a shining City on a hill.
• Rizzo: This is not a stepping stone for me.  I’ve dedicated my life to serving Torrance and want to ensure your voices are heard.
• Griffiths: I’m not a political animal, my highest ambition is to serve the community.
• Dagastino: I’m the only candidate out there actively recruiting new businesses to Torrance.
• Sheikh: Will help make Torrance an exemplary City with fresh ideas and my financial background.

A 13 hour flaring event at ExxonMobil marked a heated and disturbing week in Torrance. Early Wednesday Torrance Alerts notified residents that a planned meeting for March 19^th hosted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District was cancelled.

Local activists had been rallying the public to attend the meeting as it was scheduled to consider a proposed order to allow ExxonMobil to violate emission standards as it restarts gasoline refining equipment damaged in last year’s explosion. The City provided no explanation for why the meeting was cancelled, but rumors have circulated that it was postponed at the behest of Exxon’s lawyers.

The drama escalated later that evening as residents received a flurry of conflicting communications from the City about the flaring. Some of those are as follows:

“ExxonMobil is experiencing a large flaring event.”

“TFD responded to ExxonMobil for a HazMat response.  Upon arrival TFD investigated and found a flaring event due to a power outage.”

“A second flaring event is taking place at ExxonMobil.”

“There is not a second flaring event. Both ExxonMobil Flares are occurring simultaneously.”

“ExxonMobil refinery is coming back online. Planned flaring will continue.”

Other reports would surface that the incident was caused by a single mylar balloon. Some cast doubts, however, on the entire story by claiming So Cal Edison never reported any power outages.  Current School Board member Don Lee also questioned the power outage explanation by writing on the Torrance Town Hall FB Group:

 “Doesn’t ExxonMobil generate their own power? I know they have a cogeneration plant and they have high priority service from SCE (this means they have their own service into the refinery) that isn’t supposed to be affected by local power outages.”

While ExxonMobil purportedly has 30 days to report the amount of excess emissions, the Torrance Refinery Alliance is already claiming on their FB page that the flaring resulted in several toxic chemicals being spewed in the air.

What really did happen? Was it a planned flaring event per the last communication from the City?  If not, how could a single mylar balloon cause such an event?  Why all the miscommunication? How many chemicals were spewed into the air and what is the impact to the air quality?  What is the plan for future flaring events as the refinery comes back online?

Yet, despite the perturbation created by these unanswered questions surrounding the refinery, the real heat in Torrance may be emanating from City Hall and the Mayor’s office. A Daily Breeze article revealed that the District Attorney’s office is now reviewing the circumstances that led to the FPPC fining the Mayor’s campaign $35,000.

Mayor Furey dodged accountability for the incident saying he was not personally involved. His son, Patrick Furey Jr., blamed the entire affair on political enemies of his father.

It is unlikely, however, that critics will be placated by those responses. Last Council meeting, Arthur Plourde – who was controversially removed from a Commision post last year – angrily denounced the Mayor and claimed he was going to have him recalled. Another speaker called for the removal of Patrick Furey Jr. from his Traffic Commission post.

Councilwoman Ashcraft and Griffiths have supported discussing the removal of Patrick Furey Jr. from his post on the Traffic Commission, but appear to be hoping the community will take the lead with Councilwoman Ashcraft openly wondering how many people would come to the next Council meeting to speak out on the matter.

With that backdrop, next week’s meeting should prove interesting.  Are this week’s flares emblematic of a political firestorm underway in Torrance? Will more people speak out? Or will this scandal die down?

Last Council meeting former Jared Sydney Torrance award winner and consistent Council meeting attendee, Janet Payne, decried the lack of decorum of many residents who expressed their displeasure at the Council’s action on historic preservation by clapping at the end of each speaker who spoke out against it. If Ms. Payne is concerned about clapping, she may not want come next week as we might see more fireworks in the chambers.