Hey, neighbor!

I’ve been noticing a funny little rebellion against convenience lately.

Disposable cameras. Wired headphones. Paper planners. '90s style. Actual books. Dinner parties. Phones left in another room.

For all we can now do faster, there seems to be a growing appetite for doing a few things the slow way.

Maybe that's part of why we love living here. Walking the farmers’ market. Knowing the person behind the counter. Sitting through a high school football game. Stopping to talk to a neighbor when you meant to just grab the mail.

None of it is particularly efficient.

Thank goodness.

Here’s your weekly wave.

In this issue:
​🌊 Safer routes are coming around two schools + Tide readers correctly called the airport logo
🌊 Meet the Torrance High coach who wants his players prepared for a lot more than football
🌊 Apple picking, book-page pumpkins, taiko drums + a very good weekend to wander around town

💌 P.S. Mayor Sharon Kalani gives the annual State of the City address tomorrow, with a look at what’s ahead for Torrance. We’ll be there, notebook in hand. What do you want to know about the state of our city? Hit reply with your questions, and we’ll be listening for the answers.

🚨 South High gets the all clear​
South High School was placed on lockdown Wednesday after Torrance police received a call reporting multiple bombs on campus. Nearby Richardson and Calle Mayor middle schools sheltered in place while police searched South High with explosive-detection dogs. Nothing suspicious was found, and by late afternoon TUSD reported all three campuses were safe and students were cleared for dismissal.

🚸 Safer routes are coming around two Torrance schools
​New crosswalks, pedestrian signals, bike-route signs and other safety improvements are coming to the neighborhoods around Anza and Torrance elementary schools. The work also includes sidewalk and curb-ramp repairs and new bike racks. City Council awarded the construction contract as part of a broader school-safety program with nearly $13.8 million in funding.

🏭 Warehouse proposal hearing postponed again​
The Del Amo and Prairie Center Project is still waiting for its Planning Commission hearing. The proposal calls for an approximately 403,000-square-foot industrial warehouse with 56 truck docks on 31 acres at Del Amo Boulevard and Prairie Avenue, beside the Torrance refinery. After an August hearing was continued to Sept. 16, the city postponed consideration again last week; a new date has not been set. Opponents have raised concerns about truck traffic, air quality, refinery-adjacent safety and habitat impacts.

❤️ South High senior named national heart ambassador​
South High senior Enoch Kim, 17, has been named an American Heart Association Youth Heart Ambassador for the 2026–27 school year. The cause is personal: Kim lost an uncle and grandfather to heart disease and has watched his father develop early warning signs. He also created Beneath the Armor, a project aimed at reducing stigma around heart-disease prevention among men, particularly in the Korean American community.

✈️ You picked Concept 1. So did the city.

A couple weeks back, 82% of Tide readers picked Concept 1 as their favorite of the proposed Torrance Municipal Airport logos. Turns out, City Council agreed: Concept 1 is officially the airport’s new (and first) logo. Look at us, Torrance tastemakers.

🏆 10 Torrance schools earn state recognition​
Ten TUSD elementary and middle schools earned state recognition for their work building positive school cultures, including a district first: Carr Elementary received the highest-level Platinum award. Seven other schools earned Gold and two earned Silver through the California PBIS Coalition’s recognition program.

⚾ A good season for the Saxons​
Four North High baseball players — Andrew Bello, Lucas Blackwood, Josiah Reed and Mason Matsumoto — earned All-CIF Southern Section honors for Division 7, while Diego Alarcon was named Division 7 Coach of the Year.

Meet Coach Carter, who knows victory must be earned.

There’s a moment every Friday night when Coach Raymond Carter knows it’s officially game time.

It happens before the first whistle, before anyone knows what the scoreboard will say. The Torrance High varsity football team leaves campus and walks to Zamperini Stadium together.

“Whatever happened during the day, you leave it at school,” Carter tells his players. “Once we go on our walk to Zamperini Stadium, that’s our time to lock in and focus.”

When they reach the field, there’s one more stop.

Near the flagpole is a plaque bearing four words: Victory must be earned.

Every player touches it. Every coach does, too.

For Carter, the phrase gets at something much bigger than Friday-night football.

“We’ve got to work hard for the things that we want,” he said. “If we want wins, we’ve got to put in the work.”

Carter played college football at UCLA and Colorado State and had brief opportunities in the NFL before turning to coaching. His dad was a coach, too, including Carter’s own Pop Warner coach.

When his playing days ended, coaching gave him a way to use football for something else.

“Using the game of football as an outlet to pour into the players and help them achieve the things that they want to achieve, that’s always been the goal,” he said.

Now in his sixth season as Torrance High’s head coach, Carter is coming off a 10–0 regular season and Pioneer League title. This year’s team heads into league play 3–2.

But ask Carter what he wants his players to learn, and he quickly moves beyond wins.

Preparation. Working for what you want. Following through. Learning that “nothing is handed” to you.

“Preparation for life, too,” he said. “That’s what matters.”

His favorite part of coaching plays out over a much longer timeline than four quarters. He gets to meet players as freshmen and watch them become seniors, seeing their confidence grow and football open doors for some along the way.

“Yeah, we’re coaches. We want to win football games,” Carter said. “But 90% of it is just us being a servant and being able to help the players achieve their goals and get them where they want to go.”

And he’s found plenty of people in Torrance standing behind them. Carter has coached for roughly 15 years, but said the support at Torrance High is unlike anything he’s experienced elsewhere.

Come to a game, he said, and you’ll see more than football.

“You’ll see our guys hustling. You’ll see our guys fighting through adversity, picking each other up,” he said. “You see the brotherhood in full effect.”

Just as the plaque says: Victory must be earned.

Next week, meet the Downtown Torrance shop owner who helped turn a Halloween idea into one of the neighborhood’s favorite traditions.

PASS THE TIDE 🌊 Know someone who’d like a little more Torrance in their inbox? Hit forward + invite a neighbor.

🍽️ Must Try Mendocino Farms | The Farm Club | I cannot stop ordering this sandwich: turkey, avocado, bacon, tomatoes, pickled red onions, greens and herb aioli on sourdough. The real move? Half a sandwich with a little potato salad on the side. Perfect lunch. ​The Find →

🎶 On Repeat “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young | For the first week of fall and an evening spent outside under the September sky. ​Hit Play →​

🏡 Eye Catching 24812 Pitcairn Way | For anyone who’s ever thought, “I’d like to live in Torrance, but make it Versailles.” This Walteria home looks unassuming from the curb, but step inside for soaring ceilings, an enormous crystal chandelier and a full-on painted ceiling. Someone had a vision, and they committed. ​Let's Go →

🥧 Torrance wants your best pie. The Farmers’ Market’s fourth annual pie contest returns Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 8:30 a.m. Bring your best pie to face a judging panel of local officials, then stick around for the pie-eating contest afterward.

⚾ Did you know you can rent a baseball field in Torrance? We did exactly that for my son’s birthday last weekend, inviting just shy of 30 kids for an afternoon of wiffle ball, complete with pennant flags, a concession stand and a grandpa-turned-ref. Basically, what 9-year-old birthday dreams are made of. For favors, we wrapped up the classic boxed wiffle ball with a pack of Big League Chew and a couple baseball cards. Such a simple, very fun party.

🎧 Currently in my headphones: Lucy Foley’s Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel, the first authorized Miss Marple novel in 50 years. I already love Foley’s twisty, everyone-is-suspicious mysteries (The Guest List is especially fun), and this one has all the ingredients: a glamorous hotel in the Swiss Alps, a body in a gondola, a snowstorm trapping everyone on the mountain and Miss Marple on the case. Foley grew up reading Agatha Christie and says Miss Marple has always been her favorite. I’m thoroughly enjoying it, and the British accents make the audiobook especially fun.

📼 Bring back browsing the video store. Bingebrowse turns your streaming services into old-school video store shelves you can actually browse by genre. Much better than spending 20 minutes scrolling through Netflix only to give up and watch something you’ve already seen.

​
​Found something delightfully Torrance this week? Hit reply and send it our way!

​Feature your event. | Suggest an event.​

No orchard required: Fall varieties are starting to pile up at the Torrance Farmers’ Market, which means Saturday morning is just right for your own little apple-picking trip.

Wander the farm stands, grab two or three varieties and take them home for a taste test. Maybe add a pastry for the walk.

Is this the same as spending a crisp September afternoon in an apple orchard? Absolutely not. It will probably be 80 degrees.

But we work with what we have.

Wilson Park | Saturday, 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Free

Friday, September 25
​DoubleTree by Hilton – State of the City 2026 at 12 p.m. Mayor Sharon Kalani gives her first State of the City address at the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce event, with a look at Torrance’s upcoming priorities, city projects and what’s ahead for the city.

Scholb Premium Ales – The Fleuria Book Swap at 4 p.m. Bring up to five books you’d genuinely be happy to pass along and trade them for new-to-you reads while The Fleuria book truck pops up at Scholb. Romance, romantasy, popular fiction and thrillers are especially welcome.

Walteria Library – Craftopia: Book Page Pumpkins at 4:30 p.m. Turn old book pages into little decorative pumpkins at this adults-only fall craft session, and take your bookish creation home.

South High – Crosstown football at 7 p.m. West heads across town to take on South in a Torrance-on-Torrance Friday night matchup.

Mom Said Yes – Live Band Karaoke at 8:30 p.m. Skip the backing track and sing with a real live band behind you, with hundreds of songs spanning rock, pop, country, Motown and more.

Saturday, September 26
​Madrona Marsh – South Bay Bird Watch at 9 a.m. Take a guided walk through the marsh with the Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon, especially welcoming to new and beginner birders of all ages. Don’t have binoculars? You can borrow a pair from the Nature Center.

Nearby: Moonstone & Mist Bookshop – Grand Opening at 9 a.m. Redondo Beach gets a new indie bookstore with a full day of bookish extras: an on-the-spot poet and cartoonist, a bookish flower bar, plus DIY bookmark, Kindle charm, tote bag and hat stations.

Nearby: Hermosa Beach Pier – SoCal Cup at 9 a.m. Head to the sand for a full day of competitive beach volleyball, with men’s and women’s fours competing across open, AA and unrated divisions for a $3,000 prize pool.

George Nakano Theatre – Pennyroyal Players at 2 p.m. Take a musical romp through the American Revolution with period songs, dance and true stories drawn from the writings of Revolutionary women and Colonial and British soldiers.

Walteria Library – Press & Print: Forest Floor at 3 p.m. Try Gelli plate printmaking using leaves, ferns, mushrooms and other natural textures to create your own layered, woodland-inspired artwork. All ages welcome, and no art experience needed.

The Enclave – Taylor Swift Pop-Up Market at 4 p.m. Swifties can shop 50+ local businesses at this Taylor-themed Creative Babe Market, with a photo op, permanent jewelry, face painting and plenty of dinner and drink options nearby.

Armstrong Theatre – KYŌWA at 8 p.m. Feel the beat as taiko groups UnitOne and Argentina’s Nikyokan Wadaiko share the stage, bringing two styles of Japanese drumming together for a powerful mix of ensemble pieces, improvisation and storytelling. A second show happens Sunday at 1 p.m.

Sunday, September 27
​Downtown Torrance – Antique Street Faire at 8 a.m. Hunt for vintage furniture, retro clothes and other treasures as the monthly street faire takes over Sartori Avenue. There’s live music, $3 antique appraisals and a noon performance from Jazz It Up Studio’s XPRESS Dance Team.

Torrance Historical Society & Museum – Historic Old Torrance Walking Tour at 10:30 a.m. Take a free docent-led walk through eight blocks of Old Torrance, picking up local lore along the way, from the city’s 1912 beginnings and its Olmsted-designed streets to filming locations and a few secrets hiding in plain sight. The 90-minute tour ends just in time for lunch downtown.

The Enclave – Primrose Fiesta Market at 12 p.m. Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with an afternoon market featuring live music, curated vendors, food and drinks from The Enclave’s restaurants and brewery, plus a kids zone with free games and crafts.

All Weekend
​Smog City Brewing — Smogtoberfest, Saturday + Sunday. The lederhosen come back out for round two, with German-style beers, bratwurst and Oktoberfest games at the original Torrance taproom. Don’t miss the wiener dog races Saturday at 1 p.m.

Torrance Art Museum – Baker’s Dozen + B-LA-M. The new fall exhibitions are now open. Baker’s Dozen gathers 13 artists who caught the curators’ attention over the past year for a snapshot of contemporary art in Southern California, while B-LA-M brings together artists from Los Angeles and Berlin as part of an international exchange among artist-run spaces. Open Friday + Saturday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Weather Forecast? Fall is here. The 80s make a comeback.

⛅ Fri 69°/79° Partly Cloudy
☁️ Sat 70°/81° Mostly Cloudy
⛅ Sun 68°/80° Partly Cloudy

🗳️ P.S. 78% of you voted to keep The Tide's new order, so consider it official. Thanks for weighing in.

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