The City of Torrance wishes you a truly Happy New Year!  City Hall will be closed Friday, December 30 and Monday, January 2.

Torrance CitiCABLE has served the City of Torrance community for over 25 years.  Beginning November 9, 2011 at 7 p.m. and every Wednesday thereafter, a new program will debut on channel 3 (Time Warner cable) and channel 31 (FiOS TV) covering the rich history of our great city.  The first program answers the question, "Who is Jared Sidney Torrance," our city's founder.  Be sure to tune in and take a "look back and move forward" with us!  If you don't have cable television service, you can click here to watch CitiCABLE.

Click here for the Centennial Playback Schedule for January 2012.

Click here for the Centennial Show Archive.

Congratulations to all of the participants at "Lights, Camera, Action" for a successful event!  Click here to view the photograph proofs from this event.  The official photograph(s) will be available for purchase very soon.  Thanks to all of the participants!

TORRANCE, Calif., Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - The City of Torrance announces its newly enhanced on-line business listing today.  Torrance businesses have been able to add their business profile on www.TorranceCA.Gov for over 15 years, and now they can participate in an even better webpage.  Designed to help the Torrance business community get discovered, the enhanced features include, among other elements, improved layout, flexible data entry, faster search and a better look and feel.  The business listing page offers a dynamic up-to-date listing of active licenses.  The new features include location mapping, social media links, mobile-friendly display, and search engine optimization.

The enhanced on-line business profile listing is no cost to Torrance based businesses with a current business license.  It's great for those that don't currently have a website, and it's easy to use.  Torrance businesses can go here and activate their profile today!  Click here for more information.

Torrance Business On-line Listing is a service offered by the City of Torrance - Office of Economic Development.  For questions or comments, contact our office at EconomicDevelopment@TorranceCA.Gov.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will conduct ten weekends of 53-hour Extended Closures and Full Freeway Closures on the Long Beach Freeway (I-710) as part of the Long Life Pavement Rehabilitation Project from the Glenn Anderson Freeway (I-105) connector to Atlantic Boulevard in the cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, South Gate and Downey.

EXTENDED WEEKEND CLOSURES are scheduled for the following weekends:

• September: 23-26; 30-October 3
• October: 7-10; 14-17

FULL FREEWAY CLOSURES will occur in both directions and twice during each weekend on:

• Friday at 11:59 p.m. until Saturday at 6 a.m.
• And again on Sunday at 11 p.m. until Monday at 5 a.m.

Each Extended Weekend Closure begins on Friday night at midnight with a six-hour (12:01 to 6 a.m.) FULL FREEWAY CLOSURE to install moveable median barriers. When the freeway re-opens to traffic on Saturday at 6 a.m., the median barriers will guide all motorists to shift to the northbound side of the freeway. This allows construction crews to work on southbound I-710 and motorists to continue their commutes throughout the weekend using a reduced number of available lanes. Then, on Sunday at 11 p.m., another FULL FREEWAY CLOSURE will be in place to remove the temporary moveable median barrier in time for the Monday morning commute.

Starting Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 7:00 p.m., we will begin work to repair the pavement within the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard at Carson Street. The work will require the closure of Carson Street at the intersection and lane reductions and turn restrictions on Crenshaw Boulevard. There will be 5 flashing message signs to inform drivers of the work. The schedule and traffic impacts are listed below.

SCHEDULE:

• Wednesday, September 28 - 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
• Thursday, September 29 - 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
• Sunday, October 2 - 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

TRAFFIC IMPACTS:

• Crenshaw Blvd:  Northbound and southbound traffic each will be reduced from three travel lanes to one. Turns onto Carson St. will be prohibited, when needed.
• Carson St:  Eastbound and westbound traffic will be prohibited from crossing Crenshaw Blvd. Turns onto Crenshaw Blvd. will be prohibited, when needed.

TORRANCE, Calif., Wednesday, September 21, 2011 - The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) announced yesterday the finalists for its 2010 Most Business-Friendly City in Los Angeles County award. Torrance along with the cities of Burbank, Carson, Glendale, West Covina and Whittier are finalists for the population 60,000 and over category. read more (PDF)>>

TORRANCE, Calif., Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - The City of Torrance will launch the Torrance eNEWSLETTER on Thursday, September 22, 2011. eNEWSLETTER is a weekly publication that will feature events and activities about cultural, library, recreation, and park information. John Jones, Director of Community Services said, "if you want to find out my top five picks for things to do for the upcoming week, you should subscribe to eNewsletter, it's really convenient!" Sign up today and you'll receive the debut issue. read more (PDF)>>

Please click here to get your weekly copy of the Torrance eNEWSLETTER or to view the archive.

NOAA's National Weather Service will conduct a limited communications test of the tsunami warning system in the coastal areas of California, Oregon, and Washington on Wednesday, September 21, between 10:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. The West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, located in Palmer, Alaska, will broadcast a special test tsunami warning message, clearly labeled as a test. Upon receipt of the test message, National Weather Service offices responsible for western coastal areas will broadcast a brief message via NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards describing the purpose of the test, using the required monthly test code. If there is excessive seismic activity on the day of the test, it will be cancelled. Officials will evaluate the success of the test and correct any problems that are identified. Media responsible for relaying emergency information may relay the test information. The general public can participate in the test by monitoring NOAA Weather Radio and providing feedback online here.

NOAA Weather Radio is a direct and immediate source of weather information, including life-saving warnings, from your local National Weather Service forecast office and for civil emergency messages issued by local authorities. Radios are available through online retailers, electronic retail stores, marine supply stores and mail order catalogs. Prices vary by model and available options, and typically range between $20 and $80. NOAA's National Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. NOAA's National Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy. NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Visit them online here and on Facebook, Twitter and their other social media channels.

Please click here for NOAA's West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, and click here for the NOAA Tsunami portal.

TORRANCE, Calif., Thursday, September 15, 2011 - Last month mosquitoes collected at the Madrona Marsh were confirmed positive for West Nile virus (WNV) by the Los Angeles West Vector Control. Yesterday, two (2) Chickens from the Sentinel Flock tested positive for West Nile Virus.

Although the chickens were infected, the precautions recommended last month have not changed. Residents can protect themselves from WNV by doing the following:

• By applying repellents containing DEET, picaradin, IR3535, and oil of lemon.
• Avoid this area during early morning and evening (Mosquitoes primarily bite during this time).
• Eliminate all sources of standing water on your property, repair screens, keep doors and windows tight.

Please click here for more information regarding this event or contact Tracy Drake, Nature Center Manager at (310) 782-3989. read more (PDF)>>

TORRANCE, Calif., Tuesday, September 8, 2011 - Joining cities nationwide, the City of Torrance will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks with a brief remembrance on Sunday, September 11, 2011, 9:30 a.m. in front of City Hall (3031 Torrance Boulevard).  The brief event will include some remarks from Mayor Scotto, and special remarks from representatives of the Jewish, Muslim and Catholic Faith traditions in a sign of unity. Together with attendees, they will observe the sounding of sirens and a moment of silence in remembrance of fallen heroes. The September 11th attacks significantly impacted the way communities, such as Torrance, provide protection. read more (PDF)>>

Southern California Edison (SCE) will soon be performing maintenance on the electrical system in the areas listed below. In order to perform this work safely, electric service must be temporarily interrupted and power must be turned off. This outage will allow SCE to upgrade aging infrastructure, make needed improvements, and complete other repairs. This temporary service interruption may cause some inconvenience, and your understanding is appreciated as SCE works to increase system reliability for the future.

Outage Starting on: September 28, 2011 at 9:00 a.m.
Outage Ending on: September 28, 2011 at 4:00 p.m.
# of Residential customers affected: 133
# of Commercial customers affected: 3
# of Traffic Control meters affected: 0
Outage Boundary: 5400-5500 BLKS OF 190TH ST.

Please note that the power may be off for the whole period or may be turned off more than once. This planned outage may not begin exactly at the stated start time, and some conditions may cause this planned outage to be postponed. The times noted are the best estimate and circumstances may affect both the start time and the completion time indicated above. If you have any questions, please call the SCE toll free customer service line at 1-800-611-1911.

Please click here for current planned outage status.

TORRANCE, Calif., June 26, 2009 - The City of Torrance announces its new web address and domain name (URL) - www.TorranceCA.Gov/ as a step toward providing the community with clear, convenient and easy means of accessing City information.  Starting July 1, 2009, everyone can access the City of Torrance website through this new address. In addition, and all emails to City contacts will also use the new domain "Name@TorranceCA.Gov." read more (PDF)>>

TORRANCE, Calif., June 12, 2009 - The City of Torrance invites community members interested in becoming part of the 2010 Census Complete Count Committee to apply.  The 2010 Census Complete Count Committee is a volunteer committee established to increase awareness about the 2010 Census and motivate residents in the community to respond.  Its mission is to influence every member of the jurisdiction to complete the 2010 Census questionnaire in a timely and accurate manner.  Anyone who is interested in the importance of an accurate 2010 Census Count is welcome to apply.  Applicants need not be Torrance residents in order to be considered.  The deadline to apply is July 17, 2009.  Click here for the 2010 Census Complete Count Committee Application.

TORRANCE, Calif., May 28, 2009 - In 2012, the City of Torrance will celebrate its Centennial Anniversary!  The City of Torrance invites members of the community to apply to become a member of the Torrance Centennial Committee established by the City Council on May 19, 2009.  The Torrance Centennial Committee will be responsible for planning and recommending fun-filled and educational events and activities in celebration of the City's first 100 years, which is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2012, and will culminate on Sunday, October 21, 2012.  Individuals who have been involved with the Torrance community are welcome to apply.  Applicants need not be Torrance residents in order to be considered.  The deadline to apply is August 4, 2009.  Click here for the Torrance Centennial Committee Application.

TORRANCE, Calif., May 21, 2009 - On Thursday, May 21, 2009, Mayor Frank Scotto presented his 2009 State of the City Address at the Torrance Marriott.  Click HERE for a transcript of Mayor Scotto's 2009 State of the City Address, and click HERE for the video recording.  Mayor Scotto's recorded 2009 State of the City Address will begin cablecasting on Torrance CitiCABLE Channel 3, June 10th through July 7th at 10:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m.; and July 8th through August 4th at 12:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m.

To help keep our community informed of important issues, the City of Torrance launched a citywide Twitter account today.  Please "follow" us at http://twitter.com/TorranceCA to stay in touch.

The City of Torrance is exploring ways that members of the community may be able to communicate with the City.  Please take a brief survey that will help us determine other tools of communication that we may offer in the future.  Click HERE to take the survey.  Thank you.  Your participation is truly appreciated.

TORRANCE, Calif., March 26, 2009 - The City of Torrance has launched a preliminary webpage to serve as a location for distribution of information related to the upcoming Torrance Centennial celebrations.  Site visitors are encouraged to submit photos, film, or videos relevant to the history of Torrance in anticipation of the City's 100th anniversary celebration.

TORRANCE, Calif., February 18, 2009 - Los Angeles County Assessor Rick Auerbach has issued an alert regarding private companies that are mass-mailing Los Angeles County and the State with official looking letters that charge property owners an unreasonable fee to file a "Decline in Value Reassessment Application (Prop 8)".  These solicitation letters are formatted in a way that could mislead people to believe that they are from the County.  In addition, these letters can confuse homeowners into paying as much as $179 to file for a Prop. 8 Decline in Value Review when the assessor may be doing this already and/or the homeowner can easily file for free.  Click here for Assessor Auerbach's press release regarding these "scam" letters.  Click here to visit the Los Angeles County Assessor's website for more information.

TORRANCE, Calif., Jan. 21, 2009 - According to the most recent survey for 2008, the City of Torrance is the 4th safest city in Los Angeles County and the 23rd safest city in the United States with populations over 100,000.  As they have done since 1999, CQ Press has completed their annual report of the safest cities and metropolitan areas in the United States.  These rankings are calculated by using six basic crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft.  The rankings include all cities of at least 75,000 residents that reported crime data to the FBI in the categories noted.  In addition, it reports that the crime rate for Torrance is well below the national average.  In this study of 378 cities, the national average was weighted at 100.  The City of Torrance came in at 43.98, or 56 points below the national average.  Please click here for more information.

TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 24, 2008 - On November 18, 2008, the Torrance City Council concurred with the United States Conference of Mayors' (USCM) Main Street Stimulus Plan.  This plan allows for local control of funds to stimulate the economy and bring jobs to the local community.  There are ten "Main Street Stimulus" programs that will immediately create jobs, improve infrastructure, and have lasting economic and environmental impacts.  In the first of a series of reports by the USCM that inventory each city's 'ready-to-go' infrastructure projects - projects that could be started and completed in calendar year 2009 if emergency federal funding were made available, 153 cities of all sizes in all regions of the country identified a total of 4,591 infrastructure projects costing a total of $24.4 billion that would create more than a quarter of a million jobs.  This initial report of city infrastructure projects validates the USCM's recommendations to Congress for direct emergency stimulus funds that cities can invest immediately in job creation, small business activity and lasting infrastructure improvements for Main Street America.  In light of the challenges of the current economic situation, the Torrance City Council supports this effort to help ensure that concerns of local communities are considered, and their security and stability undiminished.  The City of Torrance would like to encourage all Torrance businesses to support the Main Street Stimulus Plan and to share this information with other members of the community.  To view the plan, please go to http://www.usmayors.org/.

TORRANCE, Calif., Oct. 14, 2008 - New audible pedestrian push buttons have been installed at the intersection of 231st Street and Arlington Avenue.  The equipment is programmed to emit a "cuckoo" walk sound for crossing in the north/south direction and to emit a "peep-peep" walk sound for crossing in the east/west direction in order to comply with the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD).  The CA MUTCD is a reference for determining the type and appropriate use of all traffic control devices to ensure consistency in types and applications.

When these audible pedestrian push buttons were first installed, the equipment was programmed to emit verbal "walk" and "don't walk" commands, instead of "beeps."   A few days after the initial programming, the sounds were reprogrammed to comply with the CA MUTCD guidelines.  At that time, residents and pedestrians were informed of the sound change.  The "beep" sounds are consistent with the audible pedestrian push buttons in operation at the Caltrans-maintained intersection of Hawthorne Boulevard and 230th Street, as well as other installations in the surrounding areas.  Contrary to the verbal commands given only in English, the "cuckoo" and "peep-peep" sounds  are universal and international sounds understood by people of all languages, presenting an important benefit to Torrance residents and visitors.

TORRANCE, Calif., Sept. 24, 2008 - On September 23, 2008, the City of Torrance officially launched the new Torrance Events Calendar on the Torrance citywide website.  The Torrance Events Calendar is a new service and tool to help improve the quality of life in the City of Torrance.  This comprehensive calendar will provide the community and worldwide visitors with a resource for Torrance-based meetings, events, and activities.  Presently, the Calendar is populated with City-hosted events, and all Torrance-based nonprofit groups and organizations are encouraged to submit information about their events for inclusion in the Calendar.  With the click of a mouse, the community can now discover everything that is happening in the City of Torrance.  Everyone is invited to visit the Torrance Events Calendar at www.torrnet.com/events, which is linked to the bottom of every page in the citywide website, under the heading Events Calendar, and also at the top of every page, listed inside the "Quick Links" drop down menu.  For Torrance-based nonprofit groups that are interested in submitting their events for inclusion in the Calendar, please click here for information on how to submit an event.  If you have any questions, please email the Calendar Administrator at TorranceCalendar@torrnet.com.

TORRANCE, Calif., Sept. 10, 2008 - During business hours on September 9, 2008, the Torrance Police Department's Animal Control received four phone calls regarding two coyotes being sighted in the area of Crest Road and Highcliff Road.  The animals were reportedly seen during the pre-dawn hours in the neighborhood. One caller reported that a cat had been attacked and killed.

Residents in that area need to be aware of these reports and are encouraged to keep children and pets in-doors during the early morning hours when these animals may be roaming.  Any sightings should be immediately reported to the Torrance Police Department's Animal Control Office at (310) 618-3850 between 7:30 am - 5:00 pm or, after hours, to the Police Department at (310) 328-3456.  In the event of an incident which may endanger public safety, the public is asked to call 911 immediately.

TORRANCE, Calif., Sept. 2, 2008 - With sadness and joyous memories, the City of Torrance announces the passing of former Councilwoman Gene Drevno on Monday, September 1, 2008 after battling cancer. Gene Drevno passed away surrounded by her nine children, grandchildren and close friends. She was 78 years old. read more (PDF)>>

American toy company Mattel is recalling millions of toys made in China that may pose dagners to children.  Recalled toys such as the Polly Pocket Sets, may contain either high levels of lead paint or may have tiny magents that can be swallowed.  Earlier, consumers were also warned of toxic lead found in Mattel's Fisher Price Brand Toys such as toys of feature characters from shows like "Dora the Explorer" and "Sesame Street." To check on specific recalled items, visit http://www.recalls.gov/.

The City of Torrance began registering oversized vehicles and trailers in January of 2007.  As of July 1, 2007 only registered oversized vehicles and/or trailers with activated daily paperless parking permits are allowed to be parked on public streets.  There are also provisions for residents who are hosting visitors traveling in an oversized vehicle or trailer.  The resident registration stickers are available at the Community Development Department (CDD), and  the daily paperless parking  permits can be pre-purchased at the CDD or the Torrance Police Department (TPD) when City hall is closed.  The daily paperless parking permits can be activated by calling the TPD at (310) 618-5636.

Please visit our updated website here for more information.  If you have any questions or need clarification about registration stickers or daily paperless parking permits, please feel free to contact the Transportation Planning Division of the Community Development Department at (310) 618-5990 or via email at cddtraffic@torrnet.com.  If you have questions about parking enforcement, please contact the Traffic Division of the Torrance Police Department at (310) 618-5557.