More than one year since it was introduced, Assembly Bill 345, which would establish a minimum setback distance between public facilities with children and oil and gas wells, was passed in the Assembly.

AB 345

Assembly Democrats have revived legislation aimed at curtailing oil drilling in urban areas, a measure that seemed dead last year.

The bill by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, Torrance Democrat, would require new or enhanced oil wells be located at least 2,500 feet from homes, schools, playgrounds, hospitals or health clinics.

The city of Gardena celebrated the life of Martin Luther King Jr. on Saturday, Jan. 18, at its 47th annual MLK Day Parade.

Civic groups and elected leaders paraded along Van Ness Avenue in a procession that ended at Rowley Park for a “Battle of the Bands” competition and a community celebration dedicated to the slain civil rights leader.

Last year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it had found asbestos contamination in eye shadow, face powder and glitter products sold at Claire’s and Justice, two retailers popular with teens and young women. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that can be found in talc. But if asbestos is inhaled, it can lodge in the lungs and do permanent damage, including causing malignant mesothelioma and other forms of cancer. Needless to say, it is not a substance you want in powder form anywhere near your nose or mouth.

GARDENA — Kanji Sahara spoke about a World War II camp memorial he has proposed for the City of Torrance at the October meeting of the Greater L.A. JACL at Merit Park in Gardena.

The memorial, to be located in a city park, would have an Honor Roll Wall with the names of all those incarcerated in the 10 War Relocation Authority camps plus those interned in the Immigration and Naturalization Service and Army camps. The names would be by camp.

An art show celebrating the winners of the inaugural AD 66 Photo and Art Contest takes place Saturday, Jan. 11, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at ShockBoxx Gallery, located at 636 Cypress Ave. in Hermosa Beach.

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, who represents California's Assembly District 66, will be in attendance for the event which features art work that “captures what is beautiful about the community.”

Governor Gavin Newsom added new regulations on natural gas fracking and oil drilling Tuesday, while also calling for the closure of some facilities.

New regulations

The idea seems like a no-brainer now: Build a communal center for occupational and vocational education that can serve multiple school districts which might not be in a position to fund such training programs on their own.

But no such facility existed in California when Capt. Charles Gardner of the U.S. Naval Station in Long Beach broke a bottle of champagne over the plow of a bulldozer during the dedication of the Southern California Regional Occupational Center in Torrance on Oct. 6, 1967.

Seven years after California started pumping billions of dollars into schools with the neediest students — an attempt to narrow a chronic academic achievement gap — a new state audit has found that the state’s landmark school funding law isn’t adequately ensuring that targeted money is actually going to the disadvantaged students it’s supposed to help.

The audit released today is the latest in a growing body of research fueling calls for more state oversight of California’s groundbreaking 2013 overhaul of school finance.