Peacock Leaves Well Roasted

It’s illegal to capture or consume peacocks on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, but you can roast them, as a peacock of sorts learned last week.

That particular Peacock, who goes by the first name of Harry, had his feathers humorously ruffled last week as 200 people gathered at a dinner to bid him farewell as he prepared to leave Rolling Hills Estates after 12 years as city manager. Honored with him were his wife Barbara and 10-year-old daughter, Rebecca.

“The Peninsula peacock flock is about to be reduced by three, which ought to be good news over on Espinosa Circle,” said Rolling Hills Estates Mayor Jerome Belsky, referring to a Palos Verdes Estates neighborhood where some residents complain about noise and droppings of free-roaming peacocks. Torrance Mayor Jim Armstrong saved his humor for Saratoga, the Northern California city where Peacock began his job as city manager on Tuesday. “That town is so small,” said Armstrong, “that it has one city limits sign, painted on both sides.”

By the time the evening was over, Peacock had a couple of cartons of plaques, proclamations and pictures given by a variety of South Bay cities and county agencies.

Close to tears, Peacock recalled his years of coaching soccer, not to mention what he called his less than sterling golf game, and said it was tough leaving friends and “pulling up roots in the Peninsula, which we all love.”