March 2010 Archives

For the second time in two months, Rancho Palos Verdes City Hall was shut down today due to a water main break.

City Manager Carolyn Lehr sent out an e-mail to staff saying municipal facilities at 30940 Hawthorne Blvd. would be closed because there was no running water or toilets. A message went out the city's e-mail listserv as well.

Repairs are under way and are expected to be completed tonight, with City Hall reopening Thursday.

The break, discovered just north of the administration building about 11:30 a.m., is near the location of a similar break that likewise shut down City Hall on Feb. 8.

The city's municipal facilities occupy a 1950s-era military installation.

"This is what we're experiencing -- aging infrastructure," Lehr said.

An updated civic center with a new City Hall has been a goal of Rancho Palos Verdes officials for several years.

Police chased a burglary suspect on local freeways from Anaheim until the person crashed in the Los Angeles International Airport tunnel on northbound Sepulveda Boulevard at about 9:10 this morning.

Update:

A dead newborn baby was discovered today in a trash can waiting to be emptied in a residential Redondo Beach neighborhood, police said.

A trash collector for Consolidated Disposal discovered the infant about 9:05 a.m. on Irena Avenue near Beryl Street.

The trash collector spotted the baby's head and upper body while removing items from a gray trash can to lighten the load in order to lift it into his truck, said Redondo Beach Police Lt. Joe Hoffman.

The baby was buried about halfway deep into the trash can, Police Sgt. Phil Keenan said. The baby's sex was unknown because the body has not yet been removed from the bin.

The Los Angeles County Coroner's office has been called to the scene.

The upscale neighborhood is residential, with condos and single-family homes lining the street. The trash can is about a block away from the Living Waters Lighthouse Church, 500 Agate Ave.

Anyone with information about a pregnant woman who may have recently given birth should contact Redondo Beach police at 310-379-2477.

Police in Hawthorne are advising motorists to use caution while driving at 135th Street and Doty Avenue because of an overnight water main break.

The street is open, but the area is still flooded. Crews are working on repairs.

The repairs will close one of the two southeast bound lanes of Plaza Del Amo between Western and Arlington avenues from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. because part of the road has subsided around a manhole cover.