Hey, neighbor!

I read something this week that’s been rattling around in my head.

Gallup has a new report on how Americans are doing, and one of the things it found is that where we live matters. Our relationships matter. Feeling like we belong somewhere matters.

And I thought, well, yes.

Knowing a few more people around town. Showing up for things. Having a coffee shop where someone recognizes you. Caring what happens to the park down the street.

Maybe loving where you live is partly a practice.

Anyway, that’s what we’re doing here.

Here’s your weekly wave.

In this issue:
​🌊 What’s changing on Torrance streets + a guide to your ballot
🌊 Meet Nikki Chambers, who's helping kids discover the wild side of Torrance
🌊 A local film festival, Halloween fun + a little idea for dinner with neighbors

🌎 Earthquake practice this morning
​At 10:15 a.m. today, Torrance joins the Great ShakeOut, a worldwide earthquake drill. Take a minute to practice dropping, covering and holding on, whether you're at home, work or school.

🚦 More money for Torrance streets and safer school routes
​Torrance is getting more than $52 million in additional Metro funding for two transportation projects: $44.45 million to modernize traffic signals and the city's fiber-optic network, helping signals communicate and coordinate traffic, plus $8.11 million for safer sidewalks, crossings and bike routes near three elementary schools. It's part of nearly $115 million approved for 23 projects across the South Bay.

✈️ Unleaded fuel arrives at Torrance Airport​
A new partnership between Torrance Aerofuel and Sling Pilot Academy is expanding access to unleaded aviation fuel at Zamperini Field. The city marked the milestone Tuesday, with the first aircraft using the new fuel. It's a step toward reducing lead emissions from planes, a longstanding concern for communities near airports.

🏘️ More housing options for South Bay workers?​
A new California law gives the South Bay Regional Housing Trust, which includes Torrance and 10 neighboring cities, more ways to finance housing for middle-income workers, like teachers, first responders and healthcare professionals who struggle with local housing costs but earn too much for many affordable housing programs. The trust can also help preserve existing affordable homes. No new funding or projects have been approved, but the region now has another tool to address its housing shortage.

🗳️ Your Torrance ballot, minus the homework​
Your ballot is here. And it is…a lot. The ballot guide I pulled up had dozens of races and questions, which is how you can start out feeling like a reasonably informed citizen and, several pages later, find yourself staring at Superior Court Judge, Office 131, wondering how you're so out of the loop.

Closer to home, Torrance voters will help choose representatives in Congress, the California Legislature and the L.A. County Sheriff. Depending on where you live, you may also vote for the TUSD School Board or El Camino College Board of Trustees. And that's before the statewide races and ballot measures.

Dates to know: Oct. 19 is the regular voter registration deadline, select Vote Centers open Oct. 24, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Where to start? The Daily Breeze voter guide has candidate questionnaires for local and statewide races. You can also explore your ballot at Vote.org or visit L.A. County's election website for your official sample ballot and voting locations.

💡 Got a business idea?​
El Camino College students can compete for up to $4,000 in seed money in a business pitch competition, with mentoring along the way. Registration closes Nov. 1.

⚓ Welcome home! ​
After more than 10 months at sea aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, Torrance resident Andrew Salvatierra is back with his family following the aircraft carrier's historic deployment. The City of Torrance shared his homecoming story.​

🏈 Friday night lights are back on CitiCABLE
​After a big homecoming Friday across Torrance, here's more local football news: the city is bringing back its high school sports coverage, with students helping capture the games and school spirit from campuses across town. Look for weekly scores and highlights on Torrance CitiCABLE and the city's social channels.

Meet Nikki Chambers, who's helping Torrance kids discover the wild place in their backyard.

When Nikki Chambers retired after 20 years teaching biology at West High, there was one part of the job she was happy to leave behind: grading papers.

The teaching? Not so much.

“I needed to still spend time with kids,” she said. “I needed to teach about the world around me because I don’t know how not to tell those stories.”

After years of teaching through the kelp forests off the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Nikki found another local ecosystem to explore: Madrona Marsh.

She started by helping pot poppy seedlings in the native plant nursery. Then she spotted another retired teacher leading children around the preserve.

“That looks like fun,” she thought.

Soon Nikki was leading tours herself and developing educational programs for school groups. She wanted kids to have reasons to return as they grew older, rather than visit once in second grade and never come back. Today, the marsh has programs for every grade, kindergarten through high school.

Her hope is that kids will “grow into the place and grow with the place,” so that when they drive past the marsh on their way to Target, “it has meaning. It's not just the weed patch.”

And there's plenty to discover after the school day ends. Nikki also helps lead the marsh's popular night hikes, which begin just before sunset. She calls it the changing of the shifts.

“Pay attention to the changes, particularly in what you hear,” she tells visitors.

The birds quiet down. Crickets begin chirping. Depending on the season, frogs join in, and coyotes sometimes start singing at sunset.

Then come the owls.

“They show up out of nowhere,” Nikki said of the great horned owls that glide silently through the marsh. One evening, the group spotted five.

Her husband, who joins her on the hikes, has a knack for spotting wildlife. He also brings a device that detects bat sonar. Together, they've detected nine different species of bats at the marsh.

All of this is happening on 45 acres surrounded by homes, traffic, a car wash and, yes, Target.

Nikki has a favorite spot where she asks visitors to stop and look all the way around. For a moment, she said, it's easy to imagine you're somewhere out in the country.

It's the kind of place you could live near for years without really knowing. Nikki understands that. She once brought her own kids to look for butterflies, then didn't return for years because life got busy.

These days, she's there all the time. And she's hoping the kids she teaches will keep coming back.

THREE MORE THINGS

🦗 A little-known fact about crickets: Only the males chirp, and they have two different calls—one to attract a mate and another to warn males away.

🐺 The marsh's most misunderstood resident: Coyotes. Nikki says they help keep the ecosystem in balance by controlling populations of rats, gophers and rabbits. “They belong here,” she said.

🦋 Her advice for your next visit: Come back in a different season. In spring, there are so many caterpillars that Nikki has to remind school groups they can’t stop for every single one.

🍽️ Must Try New York Deli | Matzo Ball Soup | Sometimes a big bowl of soup is exactly what you want. This old-school Torrance deli on Sepulveda serves up matzo ball soup with fluffy dumplings in chicken broth. Add a half sandwich and call it lunch. ​The Find →

🎶 On Repeat “Season of the Witch” by Donovan | A little spooky, a little groovy, and just right for an October drive around Torrance. ​Hit Play →​

🏡 Eye Catching 3611 W. 244th St. | It's giving Rapunzel. This Spanish-style home in Walteria has serious fairy-tale charm, complete with a tower-like exterior and views of the Palos Verdes hills. ​Let's Go →

🍽️ Whatever happened to having people over? I read that just 12% of Americans now host friends or family at least once a month, compared with 42% in 1975. Between busy schedules, kids and the ease of staying home, we've apparently gotten out of the habit. A little encouragement to order pizza, pull up some extra chairs and invite the neighbors over. The house doesn't have to be clean.

🧵 A new little shop in Old Torrance. Reader Kara tipped us off to Wildflower Fabrics, a new shop on El Prado filled with beautiful fabrics, sewing supplies and inspiration for your next project. They offer sewing classes, too. And here's a lovely neighborly connection: Yarn Angels of South Bay accepts donated fabric and yarn and turns them into handmade items for local charities.

🎄 The Christmas toy catalogs have arrived. We've gotten both the Amazon and Target versions, and watching my boys carefully study every page and circle their wishes makes me wildly nostalgic. I used to do the exact same thing as a kid. Speaking of Christmas traditions, a few years ago I started giving everyone in our extended family matching pajamas right after Thanksgiving dinner. We all change into them and watch a Christmas movie. There's something so fun about seeing everyone, from the littlest cousin to my grandma, in matching jammies. Here's this year's pick...don't tell my fam!

​
​🚘 A Costco run, but make it Halloween. Someone turned their trunk into a miniature Costco for trunk-or-treat, and I have to admit, it's pretty brilliant. Filing this away for anyone who still needs a theme.

POP QUIZ 🍽️

Would you come to a Tide Dinner Club?

I've been toying with an idea: What if The Tide brought a few neighbors together over dinner? You'd sign up, get matched with a small group of people you haven't met yet, and meet at a local restaurant for a good meal and some new company.

No agenda, just dinner with neighbors. If enough of you are interested, I'll see what I can make happen!

Would you be in? 🍝 Yep! Save me a seat. 🍷 Maybe! Tell me more. 🏠 Not for me, thanks!

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

​Feature your event. | Suggest an event.​

This Saturday, the Armstrong Theatre rolls out the big screen for the Riptide Film Festival, featuring 28 short films from emerging California filmmakers.

Spend the evening discovering new filmmakers, then stick around for the awards ceremony. One general admission ticket gets you into all the screenings, while VIP passes include red-carpet photos and a chance to mingle with the filmmakers.

Saturday, Oct. 17 | 4–10 p.m. | Armstrong Theatre | $15 general admission, $40 VIP

Tonight
​Zamperini Stadium – Torrance vs. West at 7 p.m. It's rivalry week! Torrance High hosts West High for a Thursday night crosstown showdown, with the Tartars calling for a blackout in the stands.

Friday, October 16
​El Retiro Library – Magic Wayne at 11 a.m. A little magic for your Friday morning. Magician Wayne brings an interactive show full of tricks, laughs and audience participation.

Saturday, October 17
​American Honda Collection Hall – Cars, Bikes & Coffee at 9 a.m. This month’s free car show celebrates Hispanic Heritage and fall with mariachi music, traditional Mexican dancing, trick-or-treating and costume contests. Plus, see rare Honda race cars, including a 1996 NSX that competed at Le Mans, and explore the museum for free.

Walteria Library – BARK Reading to Dogs at 11 a.m. Some reading buddies have four legs. Young readers can practice reading aloud to friendly therapy dogs who are happy to listen, no matter how many times you stumble over a word.

SCROC – ICAN Halloween Festival at 11 a.m. ICAN hosts a free Halloween celebration designed for people of all ages with disabilities, along with their families and caregivers. Expect costumes, games, magic shows, a dance party and a community marketplace.

The Enclave – Villains & Volumes at 11 a.m. A Halloween-inspired market for book lovers, with bookish vendors, local makers, tattoos, permanent jewelry, baked goods and a chance to bedazzle your own book.

Western Museum of Flight – B-2 Test Pilot Lecture at 11 a.m. Ever wonder what it takes to test a stealth bomber? Don Weiss, former chief B-2 test pilot at Northrop Grumman, shares a behind-the-scenes look at the aircraft’s radar modernization program, the problems engineers encountered and how they solved them.

Southeast Library – Southeast Sessions: Billy Mohler and Jeff Parker Duo at 2 p.m. Trade the usual library quiet for an afternoon of live jazz with bassist Billy Mohler and guitarist Jeff Parker.

Riviera Kids Club – Pumpkin Carving at 2:15 p.m. Kids can scoop, carve and create their own jack-o’-lantern to take home, without leaving the pumpkin guts all over your kitchen.

Mom Said Yes – Shabingus at 8:30 p.m. A little Stones, a little Stevie Wonder, some Blink-182 and Sublime. Shabingus jumps between classic rock, funk and ’90s favorites for a Saturday night of live music.

Sunday, October 18
​Nearby: Manhattan Beach Pier – World Famous Pumpkin Race at 12 p.m. Yes, people really race pumpkins on wheels down the hill toward the pier, and the crashes are half the entertainment. Bring your own pumpkin racer or cheer from the sidelines. Festivities start at noon, with races at 1:30 p.m.

All weekend
​Destination: Art – Made in the South Bay at 11 a.m. Last chance to catch this gallery exhibition featuring 90 works by 15 South Bay artists, spanning a variety of mediums. The show closes Saturday, so stop by Friday or Saturday for a look at what our local artists have been creating.

Torrance Theatre Company — A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. There’s still time to catch this Tony-winning musical comedy about a penniless heir who discovers eight relatives stand between him and a fortune. The catch? One actor plays the entire eccentric family. Through Oct. 24.

Nearby: South Coast Botanic Garden — Dogtoberfest. Your dog’s Oktoberfest plans might be better than yours. The Garden welcomes pups for live German music, Bavarian food, stein-holding contests and races for dogs under 30 pounds. Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 1.

Torrance Art Museum — Baker’s Dozen + B-LA-M Three exhibitions, one museum visit. See work by 13 Southern California artists in Baker’s Dozen, explore an LA-Berlin artist exchange in B-LA-M, and walk through Darel Carey’s optical installation in the hallway. Free; Friday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Weather Forecast? Well, those three days of fall were nice while they lasted.
☀️Fri 73°/95° Sunny
☀️ Sat 68°/89° Sunny
☀️ Sun 66°/84° Sunny

ONE LITTLE HALF-BIRTHDAY WISH 🌊 The Tide turns six months old next Thursday! If you've enjoyed having a little more Torrance in your inbox, we'd love for you to pass it along to someone who might enjoy it, too. Know someone who'd love The Tide? Hit forward + invite a neighbor.

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