May 2019
Save Water, Energy, Money, & the Environment
FREE Eco Gardener Workshops in Torrance

Make your beautiful garden the envy of your neighbors while simultaneously saving water and creating a productive ecosystem in your backyard! WRD's Lillian Kawasaki Eco Gardener Program teaches homeowners about the multiple benefits of planting a sustainable garden through a series of in-person classes. Whether you attend one or all of them, you are certain to walk away with knowledge about sustainable garden design concepts as well as plant and material selections for creating an attractive, water efficient garden. All classes are FREE.

The Eco Gardener program educates residents on four popular topics: sustainable landscape design, drought-tolerant plants, edible gardening, and irrigation basics. Chose from the list of classes below to register for ( all classes are hosted at Madronda Marsh in Torrance ).

FREE Water Conservation Items
LADWP is proud to offer FREE water conservation items to its residential customers. If you own or rent a home within the LADWP’s service area, you can receive showerheads and aerators. To get free showerheads and aerators for your home, visit your nearest Customer Service Center.
Turf Replacement Class in Carson: June 26th
Learn how to replace your turf with sustainable drought-tolerant alternatives. Additionally, this class will aid in assisting residents with understanding how to meet rebate program requirements.

Wednesday, June 26, 2019
5:30 P.M. - 7:30 P.M.
Donald L. Dear West Basin Headquarters - 17140 S. Avalon Blvd., Carson, CA 90746
Torrance California Friendly Landscape & Turf Removal Classes in 2019

Remove your turf and successfully convert your landscape into a sustainable drought-tolerant garden. These classes will help you understand and meet rebate program requirements. Register for the upcoming Saturday class scheduled below:
Sanitation Districts Now Offer Online Payment Option

Effective April 15, customers will have the ability to make online payments for Solid Waste Fees, Liquid Disposal Fees, Industrial Waste Connection Fees, Connection Fees, Service Charge–Direct Bills, and Industrial Waste Surcharge Fees. The payment link is found in the "How Do I" section on this Sanitation Districts' website. The link will lead to a secure payment website hosted by LexisNexis, Sanitation Districts' authorized payment vendor. All major credit cards and e-Checks are accepted, however, payments made by credit card will incur a convenience fee of 2.17%. There is no convenience fee for e-Check payments.
SoCalGas Kicks Off 2019 Environmental Champions Grant Program
SoCalGas has kicked-off its 2019 Environmental Champions Grant initiative, announcing the company is accepting applications from nonprofit organizations focused on clean air, clean energy, and renewable natural gas. Eligible organizations can apply for grants of up to $25,000 each by visiting this link between May 2 and June 5, 2019. Winners will be selected and notified of their selection in Sept. 2019.
Electric Appliances Help Spice up Mexican Fare
The food at Juan Sanjuan III’s Gloria’s Restaurant & Bar in Huntington Park has been about traditional Mexican cooking since his father started the business 36 years ago. “For us, it is about the flavor and tradition of Mexico,” Sanjuan said. But when he and his father decided to start a new endeavor, Gloria’s Pueblito, tradition ran head on into a modern restaurant reality: how to maintain their traditional cooking with limited proteins, space and inventory.
Household Hazardous and Electronic Waste Collection Events

The Household Hazardous Waste and Electronic Waste Collection Program (HHW) gives Los Angeles County residents a legal and cost-free way to dispose of unwanted household chemicals that cannot be disposed of in the regular trash. Click on date(s) below for more information about the next event taking place in the South Bay:

LADOT's Commuter Express

There's a new commuter bus from El Segundo to Downtown LA! Save money, save the environment, and spread the word--at just $2.50, it's the deal of a lifetime. Route 437B has express trips both morning/night to Playa Vista & Route 439 serves Downtown LA to/from El Segundo.
Metro Releases Draft $7.2 Billion Budget for 2020 Fiscal Year; Service Changes Proposed
Metro’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year — which runs from July 1 to June 30, 2020 — has been posted on metro.net. A public hearing for the budget will be held at Metro headquarters at noon on Wednesday, May 15, and the Metro Board is scheduled to consider adopting the budget at their meeting on Thursday, May 23.

The balanced budget is for $7.2 billion, which is an increase over the current year’s $6.6 billion. The increase is due mostly to Metro expecting more revenues from its sales taxes, grants and bonds while increased expenses are due in part to costs involving labor and benefits, debt and the planning and construction of road, transit and active transportation projects. No changes to Metro fares are proposed in the budget. 

As part of the budget, Metro staff proposed some changes in service to make schedules and train lengths more consistent, improve on-time performance, allow more time for light rail vehicles maintenance and match service levels with actual demand based on Board-adopted policies.

Also, learn about other Metro programs such as Vanpool and ExpressLanes .
Interesting Read
DOE Partners on Zero-Carbon Retrofits for the Multifamily Building Sector

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) announced a collaboration with the Rocky Mountain Institute to catalyze the development of a speedy and scalable process for zero-carbon retrofits in the multifamily home sector through the RMI’s REALIZE initiative, which aims to produce zero carbon retrofits for residential buildings.
Learn more about South Bay sub-region & its member cities/areas here
Interested becoming a volunteer at SBESC? Fill out an application here
Where Does Your City Rank
in the SCE Energy Leader Partnership Program?

Platinum Tier: 20% Energy Reduction
Carson, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes,
Rolling Hills Estates, Torrance

Gold Tier: 10% Energy Reduction
El Segundo, Gardena, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills
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