South Bay : SPACE WARS

In the case of Aerospace vs. Airtouch, the guys with the satellites won.

The Redondo Beach City Council recently voted to deny a request to install a 60-foot cellular telephone tower at Aviation Park because, among other things, it would have interfered with satellite antenna tests at the nearby TRW aerospace facility.

Councilman Joe Dawidziak said the communications firm wanted to lease 1,200 square feet of the park at $10,000 a year to shore up its transmission capabilities in the South Bay. To sweeten the deal, the company offered to make a $3,000 donation to the Redondo Beach Safer City program, which helps community members organize block clubs and fight crime.